The Shattered Boy Who Glued Everyone Back Together but Himself By FoB
by Vullardqueen
Summary: The story of an inkling boy with a bad past, a golden heart and not enough time on his hands.
1. Don't wanna go home

"Basil!"  
Sam's soft voice cut through the suffocating silence of the house. "Can you please get Olive dressed? It's cold out and she needs a jacket."  
"Yeeaaahhh, I know!" Basil whispered, grabbing her little sister's jacket from a pile of clothes in the corner. She wrinkled her face up, and stuck her tongue out. "Sam it's all gross!"  
"I know, I know!" Sam said as he shoved the little food they had in three separate bags. "I'm going to try and do some laundry today."

"Good, my clothes are all stinky." Basil said, getting Olive's jacket on before grabbing her own.

Sam hurried from the kitchen and handed each of them a bag, keeping the lightest one for himself.  
"Okay. Both you guys are dressed, got lunches...all your papers are signed. Let's get out of here before mom and dad can wake up."  
Basil took Olive's hand, and they were out the door.

The walk to school was long and _very_ cold. Sam was sure to get Olive to school first, then Basil. Before he let her go in the school he pulled her aside. "-hey how are your arms? I didn't get to see them."  
Basil sighed, and rolled up her sleeves. "Here you go."  
He took her wrists and gently turned her arms. "...all the bruises still aren't gone…"  
"I know…" Basil sighed, her shoulders slumping.

"Well just...keep your jacket on all day, okay?" Sam said. "Teachers won't get suspicious."  
"Right...okay. I'll see you after school." She said, and gave him a nervous smile as she turned to leave.  
"Hey, have a good day!" Sam called as she left, and then let out a _very_ tired sigh.

Off to school with him too.

The longer Sam was at school, the more he dreaded going home. He hated admitting it, but he liked being here where he didn't have to take care of Basil or Olive, didn't have to worry about working shifts at grizzco, didn't have to worry about upsetting his parents. He just worried about himself.

By the time the last class bell rang, he had a knot in his stomach. He thought about what he could do to NOT go home as he walked to Olive's school to pick her up. Maybe he could just...play a few games at the square.

He walked in the school and to her classroom, waving at the teacher. "Hey," He said as he came to the door. "...how did she do today?"

The teacher smiled a little, and gave him a tired laugh. "A little better. She's been less mean the past few days."  
"Oh! G-Good." Sam said quickly. "Good. Were working on it at home."  
The teacher turned and called for Olive, and she hurried over to the door with her backpack.  
"-oh, one more thing. She has a really nasty cut...it's like...bruised. Right on her upper arm. I didn't see her fall or anything that I know of. I just wanted to make sure-"  
"Yeah, it's okay!" Sam said quickly, picking her up and putting her on his hip. "She fell the other day and hit the counter pretty hard. Just a little accident."  
"Oh, dear. Alright, at least it was just an accident."  
"Yeah, thankfully. Well...we'll see you tomorrow. Say bye Olive." Sam said, and she only waved a little.

As they walked out of the school, Olive just put her head on his shoulder tiredly. "...Sam." She whispered.

"Yeah?"  
"I don't wanna go home yet."  
He sighed, starting off towards Basil's school. "Yeah, I know. Were not. We're gonna go to the square for a while. You can take a nap while Basil does some homework, how about that?"

"...can I just nap now?" She asked, closing her eyes.  
"If you want my absolute honesty, I don't want you to because then I have to carry you the entire way and that hurts my arms." He muttered, but she didn't quite answer. Seemed she was already half asleep.

He walked his way over to Basil's school, picking her up from the front. He handed the now napping Olive off for a little bit. "You got homework?"

"Yeah, of course." She answered, "...why wouldn't I?"  
"I was just asking. Were gonna hit up the square, I need to run a few winning games to get enough to get groceries. Olive will just nap if you do homework."

She sighed dramatically, and stuck her tongue out. "I wanna play a turf war!"  
"Basil you're eleven."

"Almost twelve."  
"Regardless, you gotta be fourteen. So don't even ask."

"Fine." She said, although she definitely pouted. They walked quietly to the square, and Sam took them in one of the little cafes. Putting his bag in the back corner booth where no one would notice two kids hanging out. "Stay here, I'll be half an hour. Don't. Go. Anywhere. You got me?"  
"Yessir." Basil said, laying Olive down in the booth and sitting opposite of her. She watched Sam leave, but didn't move to get any of her homework out. She just had to wait about five minutes, and she was clear to walk out of there, and try out a Turf War for herself.


	2. who?

Basil found herself standing in front of the battle lobby. Her heart was beating fast with the excitement of it all as she realized she was finally going to get into a turf war battle.

She took a deep breath and glanced around for the refs that usually stood around to keep underage squids from getting in and only saw one nodding off near the entrance. So, she stepped towards the door watching with awe as it slid open for her to step inside, not disturbing the ref at all. She stepped inside, the place lighting up brightly as the door closed once more. Before her on the screen appeared multiple options for gameplay, and she slowly reached out a slightly trembling hand to hit turf war.

The screen told her to wait for other players, and she tapped her foot a little impatiently. What if Sam came back when she was gone? Why was this taking so long?

Then suddenly, in the blink of an eye she wasn't in the lobby anymore. She found herself standing on a spawn point in bright sunlight besides three other full grown inklings, a basic gun in her hand. The other three didn't seem to notice the underage inkling with them, all of them too busy focusing to win.

A voice counted down from 3 to 1, then everyone was off. She watched the others start inking turf and swimming off which she had zero idea how to do. She looked at her gun, before pulling the trigger and jumping a little when it actually shot ink. She squeaked a little, before she shot it again in an attempt to get used to it. As soon as she was sure she could handle it, she took off at a run in the direction of her teammates.

It was exhilarating, hearing the popping of the guns and her teammates yelling commands left and right. She ran to the center, and quickly realized it wasn't her smartest idea when she found herself face to face with someone from the enemy team. She wasted no time pointing an Aerospray MG at her, and firing.

Everything went black, and she felt her form dissipate. It wasn't a very pleasant feeling, nor was it totally unpleasant. It was just….weird. It made her brain feel weird.

She then appeared back on the spawn in the bright sunlight, but now it felt too bright. Everything was unbearably noisy. She was holding something in her hands, and she had no idea what it was. She had no idea where she was.

She had no idea what was going on.

She dropped the gun in her hand, and stumbled back off the spawn into a nearby corner holding her throbbing head. "Wh…What…" She whined, sliding to the ground in the green ink beneath her. Why was there ink?

She stayed there for a few minutes, trying desperately to figure out where she was, and what she was doing. She only looked up when she heard footsteps coming towards her, and she looked up to see a rather tall inkling with a pink bun and a large silver gun in her hand staring down at her with piercing gray eyes. She pointed the weapon at her, walking up to her to keep her in that corner so she could splat her before she just paused, and lowered her weapon.

"...hey, how'd a kid get in here? You okay?" She asked, getting a concerned look on her face.

She didn't know how to respond, so she just whined a little. She was too loud, her gun was too shiny.

The girl turned, waving her hands frantically. "REF!" She yelled as loud as she could to grab the attention of one of the inklings patrolling the arena. "THERE'S A KID IN HERE!"

Once the referee spotted them, he grabbed a radio from his hip to call the game to a stop and hopped down into the arena, swimming over to the two.

"…she was just sitting here, ref." The older inkling said.

The ref kneeled to be eye level with her. "…hey," He said as gently as he could. "…what's your name?"

What.…

What was her name?

She didn't even know it. It was just…gone. She shook her head quickly. "N-No…"

"…no?" The referee asked, creeping just a tiny bit closer. "…come on, I'm sure your mom and dad are wondering where you are. We need to get you out of here." He said, and reached out for her.

The moment he did that, she quickly shook her head and backed up to the other wall. Her heart was pounding in her chest. She needed _out_. She did something she couldn't quite explain. She was suddenly flying through the air out of the arena, and back to a simple back alley in some…plaza where she decided to stay for now, so no one could find her and scare her more.

Sam sighed as he walked out of the battle lobby. He'd won a few games, and he had just a little more money in his pocket. Enough for dinner tonight at least, and maybe a little lunch tomorrow.

He walked towards the little café he left his sisters at, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep them warm against the sharp cold wind. He stepped inside, nodding to the cashier at the counter before ducking into the very back. He spotted the booth he left them at, but it became very quickly apparent that something was wrong.

Basil was gone.

He hurried over, quickly shaking Olive awake. "-Olive, Olive. Where's Basil?"

"Huh.…?" She muttered, trying to sit up in the booth without hitting her head on the table.

"Where's Basil? Where did she go?!"

"I-I don't know…I was asleep." Olive muttered, rubbing her eyes.

"...fuck. Shit. Okay." He said, grabbing Basil's backpack from the booth and his own. "Get your jacket on, and your backpack we gotta go talk to some people."

She sleepily nodded, pulling her stinky jacket on and getting her backpack on as well before taking Sam's hand and hurrying to the café counter. "-uh, ma'am?"

"Oh, hi, can I help you?"

"Yes did you see a…a girl she was…maybe 11 or 12, green, head out there?" He said, pointing to the door.

"…well…yeah I think so. Are you looking for her?"

"Yes, I-I think she ran off. Thank you." He said quickly, rushing towards the door with Olive in tow.

His next stop was the battle lobby to see the ref currently watching for young kids trying to sneak in. His worry doubled when he came in to see the guy nodding off.

"Hey!" He shouted, reaching out to shake him awake. "What are you doing sleeping?!"

The inkling jumped awake, and shoved Sam's hand off his shoulder. "-hey watch it kid. What are you yelling about?"

"Did you see an inkling girl, like 11 or 12 come through here? Green?" Sam asked him.

The referee kind of paused, and shook his head. "I don't think so. You missin' a kid?"

"Yeah, she's my sister. I think she came through here."

"…ehh hang on I'll ask." He said, picking up a radio from his side and turning away from Sam to speak to someone. Sam watched his face go from sleepy and annoyed to alarmed.

"...you're kiddin' me." He said. "…well…I got a kid here lookin' for his baby sister. About like that."

There was a long pause, before the referee turned. "…we better go see security, kid. C'mon."

Sam's stomach sank, but he followed the referee nonetheless. "…sir, what happened?" He asked as they walked over to a small office off to the side where various referee and security personnel seemed to work.

"There was an accident with what I'm pretty sure was your sister. Some young kid got into the war got splatted, said she couldn't remember anythin' and ran off." He said as he opened the door for him, ushering him inside.

The warmth of the office hit him as they walked in the door, but it only made him feel more nauseous. The referee took them to one of the officers office, and sat them both down in chairs across from the desk, Olive immediately crawling into his lap. The officer explained just about the same thing that the referee did, "We promise we're looking everywhere for her. Right now we're gonna need to talk to your parents."

Sam tried hard not to let his face fall too much. "U-Uh…i-if you're absolutely sure."

".…yeah I'm pretty sure." The officer said, giving him an odd look. "What's your address? We'll take you both home."

Sam paused, his eyes darting around the office as he tried to think of a way out of this. He knew the parents would kill him if he brought cops to the house, but what choice did he have?

".…42 Wallaby way." He choked out.

"…you're pretty far from home." The officer said, standing up. "…come on, we'll get you back while we look for your sister."

As he stood and followed the officer, Oliver looked up at him. "…Sam…" She whispered, sounding as nervous as he felt.

".…I..I know." He whispered, climbing in the back of the officer's car with her, holding her in his lap. He shut the door, and while he waited for the officer to walk around the car to the driver's seat he turned Olive towards him. "When we get home, run up to your room and don't come out until I come get you. No matter what you hear, you got me?" He said.

"…y…yeah." She whispered. "…are they gonna kill you?"

".…I don't know Olive. Just…go to your room when we get home."

She nodded, and moved to hug him as tightly as she could. For all she knew, this was the last time she'd ever see him.

Sam couldn't shake the feeling he was a dead man walking as he followed the officer to the door and watched him ring the doorbell. He heard the sound of the door unlocking, and he looked up to see his dad standing in the doorway. Sam put Olive down, silently urging her to slip through the door and run upstairs.

"Hello, Mr. Osa?" The officer said, distracting Sam's dad from stopping Olive as she ran upstairs like Sam told her.

"…yes, that's me." He said, reaching out to pull Sam in the door. "What's going on?"

"There was an accident at Inkopolis square." He explained. "…your son was was just doing a few battles when his sister…Basil…?"

Sam nodded, biting his lip. "…yeah, basil."

"When Basil managed to slip in to a battle. There was an accident with the respawn and she seemed to have amnesia. She ran off, she's been missing since."

Mr. Osa paused, and looked down at Sam. "…go sit down in the kitchen." He said _very_ grimly. Sam quickly nodded, and disappeared into the house.

"We're looking for her now, and we'll let you know as soon we have any information."

"...thank you very much officer." He said. "…here's my phone number, give us a call if you find her. I think I need to go talk to my son."

"Alright, we will." He said.

Sam stared at the countertop as he heard the door close and lock. He heard his dad open the blinds, and it was quiet until the cop pulled away and drove down the road. The blinds closed, his dad called for his mom before he came into the kitchen. He grabbed Sam by the collar of his shirt, yanking him up to be eye level with him.

"What the hell were you thinking going to the square?!" He yelled, shaking him slightly.

"I-I…I was…I-I was-"

"What?! Playing those stupid games?!" He yelled, pushing Sam against the counter, making him yelp as his spine was pushed against the edge. "You were supposed to go to school, and come _back._ You go to the square and bring a COP HERE?!" He slammed him against the counter again, making him hiss in pain. "Now they're gonna be up our asses with your sister missing!"

"I-I'm s-sorry I w-was…I was t-trying to make s-some extra cash f-for food-" Sam yelped, looking up at his dad with wide and terrified eyes.

"We provide for you just fine." His dad hissed, throwing him to the ground, watching him crash into the dining table chairs. "You ungrateful shithead."

Sam didn't say anything, he stayed on the floor, holding his head a little. He was almost a little thankful when he heard his mother walk into the room, "John what the hell are you doing?" She asked, sounding annoyed and tired.

"Sam's got the fuckin' cops on our asses. Basil went missing, because they were at inkopolis square."

Sam glanced up just enough to see his mother's expression, and it wasn't a nice one. She glared at him with piercing red eyes as she walked over to a kitchen drawer and yanked out one of the knives. "…maybe we should just take care of him John." She said coldly.

"-we can't the cops are going to notice!" His dad said quickly. "Just let me beat the shit out of him, he'll learn."

Sam looked up at them with wide eyes, trying to scoot away from the kitchen while they were arguing. He was halfway to the door when his mother finally noticed. "-oh no the fuck you don't." She hissed, walking over to him and stomping on his ankle to hold him in place. She got down on her knees, grabbing Sam by the throat and picking him up off the ground, raising the knife over her head.

He managed to just jerk his way just barely out of her grip before she brought it down. He felt a white hot pain as the knife sliced through his cheek, from cheekbone through his lips. He didn't even have time to fully react to it. He jerked himself fully out of her grasp and scrambled to his feet and made a mad dash for the door and ripped it open.

"-don't bother coming back!" He heard his mother yell as he dashed into the yard, stumbling on a messed up ankle. "If you come back here I'll kill you for sure this time!" He heard a knife land in the grass next to him, and the door slam shut.

Then…he was alone in the bitter cold with nothing but the clothes on his back, and a knife by his feet, and nowhere to go.


	3. Lucky Day

Sam tried not to look up as he walked.

The cold night air stung his face and the gaping wound across his cheek. He hadn't yet tried to assess how deep it was; he was much too scared to try. He just didn't want to aggravate it any more than it already was.

He walked back to the square, limping on a bad ankle. He couldn't go back home. He couldn't go back to school, he was totally homeless and on his own with nothing to do. Except to look for his sister.

If he could get to her before the cops found her, they could get the hell out of there and she would never have to go back home.

By the time he got to the square it was nearly empty and the sun was beneath the horizon. He scanned the area, looking for anywhere Basil might have hid. He thought back to when their parents were angry, she always hid somewhere small and dark and quiet. She'd probably do the same here, amensia or not.

He ducked into an alleyway, and put a hand over his cheek before he called out. "Basil?!"

He didn't hear anything. Not even a shuffle or a whisper. He looked around each corner, and in every back alley and nook and cranny but couldn't quite find her. After what felt like hours, he gave up, collapsing next to a dumpster and curling in on himself. It was hard to ignore the throbbing pain in his cheek, and the cold making his fingers and toes go numb.

He pulled his arms into his shirt, and closed his eyes

Then, there was blissful silence.

For two seconds.

"…it's a little cold out here for ya, isn't it mate?"

Sam's eyes snapped open, and he found himself looking up at a _very_ tall and _very_ spiky urchin.

"…u-uh…" He sat up quickly, backing away.

"…you'll freeze to death. And good lord what's wrong with your face? Get into a tizzy with someone?"

"…sort of…?" Sam muttered. "I-I…can leave i-if you want. I didn't realize this was your…uh…alley."

"My alley?" The urchin asked, and then laughed a little. "…'s not my alley mate. I think the alleys belong to all of us homeless creatures. You are homeless, aren't ya?"

"…I-I am now." Sam answered, and watched as the Urchin squatted down to be level with him. "…wh-who are you?"

"Name's Spyke." He answered, and held out a hand. "'s nice to meet ya."

"…S-Sam. Nice to meet you too." Sam said, and shook it.

The Urchin fell back on his ass, and reached over a long arm to grab a bag off in the corner. "I think I got something to help you out with your face."

Sam watched him pull out some small butterfly bandages and a bottle of what definitely smelled like alcohol. He soaked part of his sleeve with it, and motioned for Sam to scoot closer. "Come on, it'll sting."

Sam eyed him warily, before scooting closer like he asked. He took his chin, and started to wipe blood away from the wound and clean it up a little with the alcohol soaked into his sleeve. "…pretty deep one, huh. Right across the lips."

Sam just kind of nodded, looking away.

"…I can see you're not wanting to talk about it. That's fine. Just hope they don't come after us here in the alley." Spyke said as he finished cleaning it up and reached for the bandages.

"…they won't." Sam said quietly, reaching up to just barely touch the wound and hissing when he touched it.

"Oi now I just cleaned that!" Spyke said quickly, taking his chin again and turning his head to get a better look. Slowly, he started to butterfly bandage it together.

"…keep those on a while, it's the best we can do." He said as he finished up, and cleaned up around him.

"…I…appreciate it." Sam said slowly.

"'s no problem. We help each other out." He said. He reached over and grabbed one last thing - a blanket. "And here. Curl up with this, or you'll get sick."

Sam muttered another thanks as he wrapped it around his shoulders and went back to laying down this time feeling a little better about the whole situation.

The next six months of Sam's life were simultaneously the most free but stressful months of his life. It was a constant struggle to make enough money to have food, and warm clothes. Salmon run shifts were rough, and left him with more cuts and bruises than he might have gotten at home. However, he wasn't living under constant fear, and he wasn't watching his sisters get hurt. Somehow this was better.

Sam watched the young inklings in the square as he headed towards grizzco for the first of many shifts that day. He walked past the battle lobby to the small building in the back, sighing as he eyed it's sweltering, dirty condition.

There were already a few inklings waiting around for a shift, one of them looked about his age, maybe a year younger and was scrolling through his phone as he waited. The other was obviously an older inkling, who watched him as he went to the counter to check in and take a seat to wait.

"…you're Samuel, right?"

Sam's head snapped up, and he looked over at the stranger with wide eyes. "Uh….yeah that's me." He said a little nervously. "…you…?"

The man looked him up and down. "…I'm Zachary. You're here a lot, aren't you?"

Sam bit his lip a little. "…yeah, I am."

"You're always here every time I come in. Don't you have school?" Zachary asked.

"…oh, no I don't go." He said.

"…no work?"

"…this kind of is my job." Sam admitted, giving him a 'why the hell is this any of your business' look. "This is how I eat."

Sam saw something click in the man's head as the look in his eyes changed. He leaned forwards. "…you got a home?"

"…the dumpster." Sam answered, crossing his arms.

"…well." The man said as he rubbed his chin. "…I hate seeing youngins like you out here…"

Sam almost rolled his eyes. He heard that a lot from people who pitied his situation, but didn't actually want to do anything. "Uh huh."

"…you know…" He continued, watching Sam very carefully. "…my assistant manager up at work just left."

Sam suddenly perked up, and he glanced at the man out of the corner of his eye.

"…I _do_ need someone to replace her. I bet an inkling like you could do it."

Sam turned fully towards him, eyes wide. "…you don't mean…"

He took a card from his pocket, and handed it to him. "…clean yourself up and meet me tomorrow if you want to take the job." He said, and got to his feet. "Been watching you a while…I really think you could use it."

Sam was absolutely wordless as the man walked to the door, waving a little before he stepped outside. He slowly looked down at the card, seeing the address shining up at him in gold lettering.

That new studio they just built by where he was staying.

….he could hardly believe it. He might possibly have a job! Now he just needed to…clean up a little bit….somehow. Maybe if he worked enough shifts, he could get a nice shirt or something.

Sam's salmon run shifts seemed to crawl by. The entire time he wondered if he was really lucky enough not to have to do this anymore, in fact he found himself day dreaming about having an apartment. Taking a shower. Eating a warm meal. You know, the simple things in life.

When he was finally done with his last shift, he hurried out of the dark shop into the bright sunlight with a bit more money in his pocket. He glanced between Jelfonzo's shop and the battle lobby. He could make a few extra dollars with a winning game, after all….

He glanced one more time at Jelfonzo's shop before he walked over to the battle lobby and entered a match. He found himself at humpback track with the basic gun in his hand. He saw the refs walking the edges and he eyed them over. A girl ref caught his attention. She was taller than the others, and watched him with piercing grey eyes. The countdown began, and Sam had to tear his eyes away and get going when they could go.

The entire game, he would look up at the refs and spot the girl watching him. It made him a little uneasy, did she think he was doing something wrong?

The game ended up a loss, but it still put a little bit more cash in his pocket. Before they were sent off the arena, he glanced back for the ref to find her totally gone.

He appeared back in the lobby, and turned to walk out of the sliding doors and toward Jelfonzo's shop to try and find a nice shirt for tomorrow. As he approached the door, he heard foot steps behind him. He looked back to see who was in such a hurry, and found himself looking up at the tallest Inkling he'd ever seen in his life hurrying over to him. It was the same ref from his game.

"-sir?" She said, stopping a few feet away.

"….mam?" Sam answered. "Is….something wrong?"

The girl looked him up and down with those same grey eyes. "I…wanted to say I admired your skill out there." She said. "You could really go places."

"…oh. Well…thank you." Sam said. "I get lots of practice, I guess."

"I can tell." She said, before holding out her hand. "…I'm Calamari Umeno, by the way."

"Oh, Samuel Osa. Nice to meet you." He said, reaching out to shake it.

"…nice to meet you too." She answered. She looked him up and down again, before she asked him. "…are you alright?"

"…what do you mean?" Samuel asked, pausing as he pulled his hand away from hers.

"I asked if you're alright. You're kinda beat up. Turf war isn't THAT rough." Calamari answered.

"Oh! Oh, no I'm fine." He said, dusting his clothes off a little, and rolling his sleeves down to cover up bruised arms. "Just…you know how it is." He tried to say vaguely.

Calamari just looked him up and down again. "…I don't think I do." She answered him. "I'm out here doing turf wars professionally and I don't look like someone beat the shit out of me. If you're in trouble, I want to help. That's why I came after you."

"I wouldn't call it trouble. I just uh…." Samuel paused. "…don't have a place to live and work salmon run shifts all day so…I look kind of rough. It's not that bad."

Calamari was quiet for a little bit, and she tapped her foot as she thought. "…come crash at my place." She said bluntly. "You can get a shower, and maybe a hot meal. You look like you haven't had one in months."

Samuel stared at her, blinking in surprise. "…you want me, a total stranger, to come crash at your place."

"….yeah. I want you, a total stranger, to come crash at my place." Calamari answered. "…and take a shower and eat a hot meal."

"…you're not fucking with me?"

"I'm not fucking with you. You gonna take me up on it or not?"

"I…" Sam paused, blinking. "…well…yeah I guess so. I guess I will."

"Cool. Okay, you gotta stop this place?" Calamari asked, pointing up to the shop sign.

"…oh, yeah. Some guy offered me a job? I guess I need like…something nice to wear to work." Sam answered, turning to walk inside besides Calamari.

"...well damn today's your lucky day, huh?"

"…yeah, it seems like it."


	4. Surf 'n Turf

Calamari's place was just a small, one bedroom apartment. You walked right into the living room, with only a small kitchen on the left and a hallway in the back. The living room was a bit of a mess, her laptop was sitting on the couch with a black screen and various weapons were strewn about the place. At a table in the back, a splattershot seemed to be taken apart for repairs.

"…sorry, it's messy." She said with a hint of embarrassment.

"No, it's fine! It's inside and air conditioned so I'm good." He said, glancing around the place. "…I'm guessing you take this hobby pretty seriously."

Calamari laughed, picking up a charger and moving it to another corner out of the way. "Less of a hobby, more of a job."

"Oh! Cus you're a ref—"

"No," She said, stopping to look at him. "…I play professionally."

Sam's eyes widened, and he gasped. "No way, for eel? You play on a squad?"

She nodded. "Yeah, Surf n' Turf. We're not…huge or anything yet but we're working our way up there."

Sam nodded, but now he had a smile on his face. "That's awesome."

"Well, thank you." Calamari said, moving stuff off the couch, "Okay, I'll get some blankets and stuff. The kitchen is over there, my room is down the hall on the right and bathroom is right across. You uh…wanna get a shower?"

"Oh!" Sam looked down at himself, "…ahhh….yeah if you don't mind."

"I don't mind, go ahead." Calamari said, sitting down at the table in the back. "I'm gonna order something for dinner….you like Pizza?"

"I like all kinds of food that is warm and not out of a dumpster." Sam said with a small smirk.

She smirked back at him. "Pizza it is. Go on, take a shower."

He nodded, saying a quiet thank you before he headed back to the bathroom and the author ignored the obvious issue of squids dissolving in water.

The shower felt amazing, and it was nice to be clean for the first time in half a year. He never imagined himself about to start a job tomorrow, or having somewhere air conditioned to sleep. At least not for much longer. He had a lot of luck within the past couple of days, and for a little bit it made him smile…but there was a tiny bit of guilt sitting in his stomach like a rock. He never did find Basil, and Olive…

He just hoped she was still alive.

He stepped out of the shower to dry off and pull on his old clothes before coming back out into the living room to the smell of pizza. He found Calamari hunched over the table with a bit of crust hanging out of her mouth like one of those anime girls with the toast when they're late for school, working on the splatter shot from earlier.

She reached up to take the crust in one hand, "-oh, hey pizza is here if you want some. It's in the kitchen." She said, taking a bite.

"Oh yeah thank you!" He said, hurrying a little too fast to the kitchen, grabbing a plate for a few pieces. As he came back out he eyed her working on the gun.

"….isn't there a guy in the square who works on guns?" He asked.

"Oh yeah, Sheldon does." She said, grabbing a piece of pizza from her plate. "I just prefer to work on them myself if I can."

"…well, I gotta say that's pretty good." He said, watching her screw a panel back onto the gun.

"…thanks. I think it's a pain in the ass. If my teammates didn't break their shit so much, I wouldn't have to work on it so much."

Sam raised an eyebrow, and sat on the back of the couch as he ate. "Clumsy teammates?"

"Yeah, Shrimp and Sal are kinda…young and do stupid stuff. Pepper is alright, he takes care of his stuff." Calamari answered, standing up from her chair with the seemingly fixed splattershot. She pulled the trigger just to hear it fire off a few blank rounds. "…perfect."

Sam smiled widely at her. "Nice job." He said, and she just kinda smiled back at him and walked down the hall to grab some blankets and a few pillows from the closet. "…here you go, I know I'm gonna crash after I clean up the kitchen. So feel free to eat as much as you want, just put the leftovers in the fridge. Wake me up if you need anything…I'll try not to wake you up in the morning." She said.

"No it's okay, you probably should, new job and all." Sam said quickly.

"…true. I'll give you a ride on the way to practice, how about that?" Calamari said, throwing her plate in the sink

"That sounds great!" He said quickly.

"Awesome," Calamari walked from the kitchen, heading back to her room. Just before she got to the door, Sam called out to her.

"-Hey, Calamari?"

She looked up, pausing in the doorway.

"Thank you so much for…everything. I don't know what made you think to help some random hobo out but…I really appreciate it."

Calamari smiled at him a little. "It's no problem." She said, before disappearing into her room for the night.

Samuel found himself standing in front of the shining studio early the next morning. He was wearing the nice-ish shirt he got at Jelfonzo's shop last night, and the only pants he had. He just hoped it was going to be decent enough.

He stepped inside and came up to the desk at the front.

"Hello, can I help you?" The lady said, looking up at him.

"Yeah uh…my name's Samuel Osa, I'm supposed to meet Zachary…?" He said, pulling the man's business card out of his pocket.

"Oh, yes. You're starting for the assistant manager job, right?" She said, standing up from her chair.

"Yeah! I believe so." He answered, nervously wringing his hands.

"Come with me, I'll take you up to see Zachary." She said, giving him a kind smile. He followed her to the elevator, going up a few levels and down a hall to his office. She knocked, and opened the door for him to go in. "Here you go, hun." She said, before leaving down the hall.

Samuel stepped into the room, spotting the inkling from yesterday sitting at a very messy desk. "…Hello, sir." He said.

"Oh! Sam! I'm really glad you came!" Zach said as he turned around in his chair. "I was a little afraid you wouldn't take me up on my offer."

"I really don't think I would pass up any job opportunity right now." Sam said, and Zach just laughed.

"I'm sure. Come on, have a seat! I'll catch you up." He said, and turned to grab a stack of paperwork, placing it in front of him. "First of all I gotta get you to sign all this junk, you know, since you're an employee."

"Oh, right…"

"Right. So, you know what we do here?" Zach asked, putting his feet on the desk and grabbing his phone to look through it while he talked.

"…it's a studio, right?"

"Yeah! A studio. We're in the popstar, youth turf war business." He said with a big grin. "We do the news every hour, we do the splatfests….we make sure to do shows…you get the idea."

"….oh. Right. I'll definitely need some time to learn…"

"Of course! We're not going to just throw you to the dogs! We got you." He said, then hummed. "Now…I think we need to discuss schedule and pay…."

"Oh well, I'll take anything and I can work any day." He admitted. "…I…really have nothing else to do."

"…Alright, how about just a Monday through Friday 9-5 thing?"

"...sounds good to me." Sam said with a shrug.

"Alright!" The man clapped his hands, and leaned forwards to shake Sam's hand. "Welcome on board!"


	5. Meet The Team

"-Oh my god Sam!"  
Sam jumped awake when he heard the front door open and Calamari hurried in the door with her bag at her side.  
"Oh my god Cal you scared the shit out of me." Sam said, sitting up from the couch.  
"Sorry, sorry! Can you uh, can you help me clean up a little bit?" She asked, dropping her bag at the desk in the back.  
"Oh uh…yeah, sure I can! Why what's up…?" Sam asked as he rolled off the couch and got to his feet.  
"Pepper, Shrimp and Sal are coming over for a bit, we have to sit down and do some planning stuff." Calamari said. She picked up a few of the guns laying around and put them either in her room or the closet so that the others would have somewhere to sit.  
"Oohhhh….What kind of stuff?" Sam asked, picking up his stuff and going to put it away somewhere out of sight.  
"Pepper said we got into the regional championships!" She said, more excitement in her voice than Sam had heard since he met her.  
"…regional championships?"  
"Yeah! Our team and about fifty others. Really it's a small thing…but it's a step up!" She explained, shutting the closet door. "We're going to have to go out of town for a few days and stay somewhere while the championships are happening."  
"Ahhh…gotcha." Samuel said, glancing around a little to see if the place was any cleaner.  
"So they're going to come over so we can hammer that stuff out." She said, then paused and glanced at Sam. "…if that's okay."  
"Oh, I mean yeah that's fine! This is your place I'm just the hobo crashing on your couch." He said, pointing a finger gun at her with a smirk.  
"…no you're not." Calamari answered firmly. "You're living here until you get your own place. Right?"  
"…right, right."  
"So if you don't want them to come over we can find somewhere else."  
"…no I think it's okay." He said. "They sound uuhhh…."  
"…interesting?"  
"I wasn't going to put it that way but since you said it."  
Calamari broke into one of the rare wide smiles of hers that left Sam staring a little, then she laughed. "They're interesting, and weird. Shrimp and Sal will get on your nerves."  
Sam made himself look away, "…well, thanks for the warning." He said with a small laugh of his own.  
"Welll…they're going to be here in about thirty minutes. I'm just gonna order some food." She shrugged a little. "They'll probably be here long enough. You want something?"  
"Yes please," He said quickly. "I'm starving."  
"Alrighty, I'll order up something then." Calamari said, getting on her phone.

Thirty minutes later, as promised, there was a knock at the door. Calamari called for them to just come in.  
The door opened, and in came three squids. One was definitely older, about Calamari's age with red tentacles pulled back into a bun. The other two, a boy and a girl, seemed to be the same age, in fact aside from differing hairstyles they looked identical.  
"Yoooooo! We brought some stuff!" The younger boy called, before he spotted Sam sitting on the couch and stopping. "…Cal did you get a boyfriend or something?!"  
The comment made Sam blush, and in the kitchen something hit the floor. "—NO! Don't be so rude Shrimp. His name's Sam he's just living with me until he gets back on his feet."  
"Riiiiiiiight." Shrimp said and walked to the kitchen to put down what he was holding. He winked at her.  
"…sorry." The older inkling said. He sat a bag down quietly by the door, and came over to shake Sam's hand. "I'm Pepper. It's nice to meet you."  
"Nice to meet you too." Sam replied, giving him a small smile.  
"Well there's food in the kitchen, everything is cleared so we can get started on all this planning stuff." Calamari said, throwing a hand towel on the counter as she walked to the living room.  
"—oh hell yeah!" The girl inkling said, hurrying to the kitchen.  
"Sal watch your language," Calamari said sharply.  
"Ugh, Sorry moommmm."  
Calamari kinda shook her head, before she walked back to the kitchen alongside Pepper to start this meeting.

Sam sat in the living room while he listened to them plan. Apparently they'd leave in a week, stay in a hotel near the competition, and head home at the end of the weekend with the championship in their hands. Or so they hoped. Shrimp and Sal kind of joked the entire time both the adults planned out that aspect of the trip, but when they got to talking strategies for the game they got serious. The two seemed smart when they got to it, Sam would almost consider them geniuses. It was no wonder their team was climbing to the top so fast.  
Once they finished up planning it was kind of late. Calamari hurried them out of her place, saying bye to them at the door before she closed it and sighed.  
"…Shrimp and Sal exhaust me." She said, letting her forehead rest against the now closed door.  
"…yeah, I can see why." Sam answered with a sympathetic smile. "Are they twins?"  
She pulled away from the door to plop down on the couch next to him. "Yep. They're both only 15 too. Isn't it nuts? Pepper is 22 and I'm 19. They're just 15."  
"They seem smart." Sam said, quietly watching her face as she talked. "….I think you guys are going to do great."  
She looked over at him, "….you think so?"  
"Oh yeah, I'm sure of it. You guys have a good dynamic, good strategy. It's on TV right? I'll be glued."  
"You will?" Calamari asked, seeming excited and surprised.  
"Of course! I'm kind of invested. I can't wait to see you guys win."  
"…well…" Calamari watched him, before she smiled softly. "…Thank you, Sam. That means the world to me."

Over the next week Sam worked extra hours and as hard as he could so that he could be off on Friday to see them off, and watch the games. He obsessively watched the schedule, and at 11 he was on the couch watching their first game. The four stood on the left end of the arena, Pepper with a roller, Shrimp with a charger, Sal with a Splattershot and Calamari with her Aerosoray MG. She stood tall, staring up with a confident look at written on her face that Sam admired. Or maybe it was more than adoration. It sure was something that left a funny feeling in his stomach….but it was a good one.

A countdown began, and the teams were off. He watched Shrimp take a high place, and he succeeded in taking out quite a few of the enemies. Anyone that Sal and Calamari had trouble with on the ground, he took them out. Pepper covered ground, and minutes later their team was announced the winner.

He damn near jumped off the couch for joy, and he did that for almost every win. By Sunday, he was watching them announced as the regional champions.


	6. Of Pancakes and Kisses

Come Monday morning, Sam found himself rushing around the apartment to clean up a little bit and finish up breakfast. He had gotten up rather early after spending a while that night trying to figure out how to cook pancakes. It was his first time to really cook anything more complicated than toast or scrambled eggs, but he knew it was Calamari's favorite so he tried his best.

He continually glanced out the window as he cooked, and when he finally saw her car pull into the parking lot his entire face lit up. He took the last pancake off the pan, and hurried to the door. He stepped out onto the concrete stairs just as she climbed out, and he ran over to tackle her in a hug.

"Congratulations!" He exclaimed as he hugged her as tight as he could, and she stumbled back a little with a laugh.

"Oohh my lord Sam." Calamari laughed, steadying herself against the car before she wrapped her arms around him to in a tight hug. "Thank you so much."

"I'm just so happy for you!" Sam said quickly. He pulled away from her, but didn't let her go. He just wanted to look up at her face. "…that gets you into Nationals right?"

"It sure does." Cal said, resting her arms just around his neck.

"Yesss! So when are those?"

"They're going to be in a few months, right at the end of fall. So our team has quite a while to prepare."

Sam nodded, "…and if you win nationals?"

Calamari got a big grin on her face. "Internationals."

The excitement on Calamari's face made him feel just as excited. "I bet you can do it." He said, then paused. "…actually, I know you can do it."

She nodded, before she pulled him into one more hug. "…thank you Sam, I appreciate it."

He hugged her tightly before he pulled away. "Go on inside," He said. "There's something in the kitchen for you, I'll get all your stuff inside."

"…you sure?"

"I'm absolutely sure! Go, go go!" He said, shooing her inside before he grabbed her bag from the back to carry it inside. He put it back on her bed before going to the kitchen, hoping to see her happy for pancakes.

"-Dude, Sam, you made pancakes." Calamari said the moment he came into the kitchen.

"I know, I did make pancakes." He said with a small laugh. "Hopefully that's a good thing!"

 _"Sam I love Pancakes."_

"That's what I heard! I did my best, I hope they're good. I just wanted to do something to celebrate. So uh…eat up!" Sam said quickly.

"Uh, absolutely. Thank you so much!" Calamari said, and grabbed a plate. They both got some pancakes, and sat at the table together.

Sam was relieved to find out that they weren't all that bad. He audibly sighed with relief. "…oh thank god."

"Thank god for what?" Calamari asked as she looked up at him.

"This is the first time actually _cooking_ something and I'm so glad it went okay." He admitted with a nervous laugh, running a hand over his hair…or…tentacles?

Calamari took a bite, and then sat back and just…looked at him for a few seconds. "…you didn't know how to cook pancakes?"

"Naahhh I didn't…." He answered sheepishly.

"…you learned how to cook pancakes for me?"

"Well…yeah! I really wanted you to come home to something nice, since you won!" He said quickly. "So I spent last night watching some videos…you know."

"…Sam."

He looked up at her, a mix of embarrassment and maybe some fear on his face.

"…that is the cutest shit I've ever heard." Calamari said.

Sam's face went pink. "C-Cute?"

"Yeah, cute. That's cute, you're cute." Calamari said, sitting forwards and placing an elbow on the table. She rested her head in hand for a moment.

Sam kind of blinked, his face going from pink to red. "Y-You're fucking with me!"

"Of course I'm not fucking with you!" Calamari said quickly, before she actually sat up straight. "Sam…I really don't think I've met a guy like you in a while. I…" She paused, and anxiously tapped her hands on the table. "…I think I've really grown to like you."

Sam stared at her. "…l…like…like _like_ or…"

"…yeah. Like _like like."_

Sam was honestly a little shocked, and he blinked at her.

"I know I'm not…the best at uhhh…expressing…that kind of stuff." Calamari said, and for the first time in this conversation Sam could sense a little bit of worry in her voice. "I hope that you um… _maybe_ feel the same…?"

"I-I mean…yeah!" Sam said quickly. "I…feel the same way, yeah! I wasn't going to say anything, since I mean…I'm like crashing at your place and it might have been awkward but…"

"Well…" Calamari smiled with a hint of relief. "…don't worry about that. If…you want to why don't we date…? Take it slow."

Sam reached out across the table, and held out his hand for her, smiling when she took it.

"I'd love that."

Sam spent the rest of his day with Calamari after the breakfast confession. They had a lazy day, laying around on the couch while they watched TV. Cal must have been exhausted, since she fell asleep with her head in his lap later in the day and it left Sam a little time to think. He gently brushed a stray tentacle out of her face. He felt so lucky to have found a place to stay, a job…a girlfriend….

As time passed, he kept glancing at the clock. It turned dark, and the hour became late. He gently nudged Calamari.

"...Cal.…" He whispered.

"…huh…"

"You should probably go to bed." He said softly.

"…uugghhh…you're right." She muttered, opening her sleepy eyes to look up at him.

Sam leaned down, and gently kissed her forehead. "Go on to bed, Cal."

She smiled a little, and slowly sat up. "…you're gonna give me cooties." She joked as she threw her legs over the couch and got up.

"Oohhh nooooo." Sam replied sarcastically, reaching over to turn the TV off.

"Hey…" Cal started, turning to look at Sam. As he glanced up, Calamari leaned down and gently kissed him. "…It's alright, I don't mind." She said. "…Goodnight."

The kiss seemed to leave Sam a little star struck as he blinked a little as he watched her walk back to her room. "…G…Goodnight. S-See you after work tomorrow." He said.

"See ya."

He heard her door close, and he fell back on the couch and covered his face with his hands. "…oohhh my god." He said under his breath. "…she's wonderful."

Sam was thinking about that kiss until he fell asleep. And when he woke up in the morning. And when he got ready for work And when he walked to work, all the way until he walked into the building and the receptionist pulled his attention away from it.

"-Oh, Samuel!" She said. "Hey!"

"Hey Katie." Samuel said, giving her a smile. "How are you doing?"

"I'm doing alright. You?" She said, shuffling through papers on her right.

"I'm pretty good." He said with a bigger grin.

"Awesome, well…I have something for you. Zachary wants you to go see him first thing this morning." She said, grabbing a piece of paper from the stack and handing it over. "Sent me an email this morning."

"O-Oh. I hope it's not…horrible news." Sam said as he took it and glanced it over. He had to admit he was a little worried.

"I doubt it, Zach is nice. Go on up and see him." Katie said, giving him a reassuring smile.

"Alright, thanks Kate." He said and walked to the elevator. He fidgeted nervously with his shirt and the paper in his hands as he went up to the floor his office was on, and went to knock.

"Come on in!" He heard Zachary call, and he slipped inside.

"Heeyy Zach." Sam said as he walked to the desk, folding the paper in his hand to put it away.

"Have a seat, I've got some news for you." Zachary said, motioning to the chair across his desk.

"I hope it's good news." Sam muttered nervously as he sat.

"…oh it's great news for you." Zachary said. "Long story short I'm giving you a promotion."

Sam blinked. "…a…promotion."

"Yeah! Kinda. We got a new duo to manage." He said. "I'm not…totally sure how popular they're going to get, but I think it would be a good experience for you to learn how to manage them no matter what happens."

"…oh. O-Oh! Okay uh…that's…yeah that is good news. Scary…good news." He said.

"Oh don't worry so much Sammy." He said, standing up from his desk. "You're cut out for this work kid!"

"If you say so." Sam said, and watched him walk to the door.

"And I do. Come on, they're waiting in your office." He said with a wink, before opening the door and starting to walk down the hall to the elevator.

He followed in a rush. "H-Hang on, my office?"

"Your office!"

"…I have an office."

"Yes, you have an office." Zach answered as he took him down a floor and to the first door on the right, opening the door. "And here it is!"

Sam looked at him, before he walked into the room before Zachary.

Just like he said, the duo he was to start helping was sitting there on their phones. One inkling had long black tentacles with pink on the ends while her counterpart had gray tentacles pulled up behind her head. They both stood.

"Hello girls, I just wanted to introduce you to your manager!" Zachary said, pushing Sam forwards a little bit. "This is Samuel."

The black tentacled girl smiled widely and waved with surprising energy.

"Hey!" She said. "I'm Callie."

He nodded, bowing his head slightly. "Nice to meet you Callie, and…" He glanced over at the other girl pausing a little and...maybe he stared.

She watched him with cool eyes, before she nodded and introduced herself.

"My name's Marie, nice to meet you."


	7. SquidCousins?

"Okay..." Sam tapped his pen on his new desk as he thought. He was sitting with Callie and Marie, trying to figure out how to start this. "...do you guys have something I can listen to?"

"Like...our music?" Marie asked as Callie reached for her phone.

"Yeah! I think I'll do better if I can hear a song, if you don't mind." He answered and sat back in his chair.

"Well, we have this one." Callie said, turning up a song on her phone and placing it on his desk. He leaned forwards again to listen to it, unconsciously tapping his foot to a very catchy beat.

Marie glanced down at his foot and raised an eyebrow. "...I'm guessing you like it."

Sam's head snapped up. "Y-Yeah!" He said quickly and stopped his foot. He seemed just a little embarrassed. "..I think it sounds great. It's catchy, people will like this!"

"You think so?!" Callie perked up.

"I think so! Like I said, it sounds really good."

"Well, thank you!" She said and reached over to turn the music off.

"Of course." Sam answered with wide smile. "...but okay, okay...what about a name? Like a band name?"

"Squid Sisters." Marie answered him, sitting back in her chair and watching him to see what he was going to say.

"The Squid Sisters..." Sam repeated the name and tilted his head a little. "I didn't realize you were sisters."

"Oh we're cousins!" Callie said quickly.

Sam kind of stopped, staring at them with a confused look while Marie just looked back at him like he'd just activated her trap card.

"Wh...Well...okay yeah Squid Cousins doesn't have the same ring to it." He finally decided. "Alright, Squid Sisters. I want to get that song recorded because I think that it's going to do well. I think if we can get it out that's a step in the door, and maybe I can ask Zach about the news..."

"Oohhh like a spot on the news?" Callie asked and sat forwards a little bit.

"Yeah, exactly. All the kids watch it since it's getting more focused on the games and stuff." Sam explained as he wrote it all down on his notepad. "...I just need to schedule all this stuff, and I think that's it! I'm going to call you guys when I get it all lined up for sure. How's that sound?"

"That sounds great!" Callie said quickly, and Marie gave him a thumbs up.

"...then we're good! I'll talk to you guys soon then." Sam said and watched them both stand up from their chairs.

"Thank you so much, Sam." Marie said as she walked to the door, and Callie glanced back at him.

"Yeah! I was nice to meet you!" She said quickly. He couldn't help but notice how her eyes lingered on his cheek a little before she waved and headed out, leaving him alone.

"...yeah, have a nice day." He said quietly after they'd left. He brought a hand up to feel the deep scar running across his cheek and lips. It never healed right, even with Spyke's help and the bandages trying to hold it together. Now it was like a permanent deep cut that was never going to go away. A bitter reminder of what he'd been through, and what he left behind.

It took him a moment to realize what he was doing. He was allowing himself to dwell on things he didn't need to dwell on. He quickly shook his head as if he could shake the thoughts out and grabbed his phone. He had to tell Calamari about the news.

He hit the button to call her and waited while it rang. He got a little more exctied when she answered and he saw her face on the phone.

"-Hey Sam what's wrong?" She asked, reaching up to wipe a bit of ink off her face.

"Nothing's wrong." He said as his grin got bigger. "...you at practice?"

"Yeeaaahhhh, we literally just stopped to take a break so...good timing I guess. What's that look?" She asked.

"Oh, this look? This is the look of a man who just got a promotion."

"A promotion?" Cal asked with a genuinely surprised look on her face. "No way?"

"Yes way!" Sam said quickly. "So, I'm managing this duo now!"

"You get to manage a little group. What's their name?" Calamari asked as she walked into a room inside and sat her weapon down.

"So, they're called the Squid Sisters. They're actually cousins? It's weird, anyways..."

Calamari sat down on the bench, and listened to him talk for a little bit. He seemed excited and maybe a little scared but...he was happy. He was really happy, and it made her happy.

"Listen, listen listen." She started, cutting him off mid-sentence. "Why don't we go out later? We can celebrate!"

"Oohhh...that sounds great. I get off work at five...I can meet you here at the square!" He said. "There's a good restaurant near here. At least...I think it's good. I've never had it."

"We'll figure it out, I think I know a place." She said and glanced up at the clock. "...sorry I had to cut you off, just my five minutes is up and we gotta get back to practice."

"Oh no it's okay! Go practice! Kick ass!" Sam said quickly. "I'll see you later on today, okay?"

"Alright, see you." Cal said with a smile, before she hung up the phone. Once she had hung up, she let her head just rest against the wall behind her and she closed her eyes. She had a...unfamiliar feeling in her chest. She just...

...he was really goddamn cute.

Later in the day she met him outside the studio. She looked up from her phone when the front door opened and she heard his footsteps. "He Sam," She said as he came over. She had to lean down to give him a kiss hello.

"Hey!" Sam said, having to get on his toes to kiss her back. "...you're so tall." He muttered.

"I know, I puzzle doctors everywhere. You ready?"

"Yep! I've been looking forwards to this all day!" Sam said and reached over to take her hand as they started to walk. "...where we going?"

"So...there's this place I used to go all the time...it's just down the street from here. It's like a grill...bar thing. THey have really good food, and drinks. How's that sound?"

Sam kind of shrugged. "...sounds good to me. I'm not biased."

"You poor thing." Cal laughed, walking with him up to the door of the restaurant. "You've never eaten good food. Come on!"

The two stepped inside and the both went to sit at the bar. Calamari asked for a drink, before looking over at Sam. "...do you want a drink?"

"...uuhh..." Sam faltered a little, and he nervously glanced down at his hands and the scars left on them. "...no I..don't drink."

"Oh, alright." Cal said and the bar tender left to grab Cal's drink.

"...so...how did the rest of practice go?" Sam asked, nodding a little to the bar tender when he brought the drink over.

"Oh, good." She said as she took a drink. "All the weapons are intact.'

"Oh! A miracle!"

Calamari laughed a little harder than she should have at that. "Oh god I know. It really is, I'm kind of happy not to have to worry about fixing a weapon this weekend."

"...hey, more time to spend with me." Sam said with a wink, which made Calamari roll her eyes a little.

"Okay, okay...hey what do you want to eat?" She asked. "I'm starving."

"I...don't know, what do you want? I'm never a picky eater." He said, and watched her down the rest of her drink and slide the empty cup back. She just nodded at the bar tender for another one.

Sam tried not to look as nervous as he felt about that.

Sam watched her knock back drinks the rest of the night. At first it was casual drinking, but it built into the kind of drinking that scared him. It was like she intended to control herself but...it went off the rails. When she finished her last one, Sam reached out and grabbed her hand.

"Calamari." He said softly. "We need to go home."

"...huh? They're not closed yet..." She stopped and glanced at the clock twice to read the time. "...right?"

"...no, they're not but you drank too much already." Sam said, and stood up to pull her from her seat.

"Awww...c'mon." She muttered, but Sam shook his head and walked to the door with her. He said thank you to the bar tender before they left.

It was a long walk home with a very drunk Calamari. He got up to the door with her and dug for the spare set of keys that he had in his pocket while he held her arm tightly. He got her inside and to her room and glanced around. "Uhhhh...okay...okay just...lay down."

Calamari didn't really put up a fight. She sat on the edge of the bed and kicked off her shoes before she fell back on the bed, muttering something about how tired she was.

She was out like a light in seconds, leaving Sam with alot to think about.


	8. Deep Talks On the Bathroom Floor

Sam was sitting on the floor in front of the TV.

In front of him was a very young green inkling, maybe one or two. She was sitting on a blanket in front of the small TV, her eyes glued to a kids show. He watched her glance down at a toy in front of her and pick it up. It went straight to her mouth.

"...Olive..." Sam sighed and reached out to grab it from her. "Don't put it in your mouth, you can't get sick."

"She's a baaabbyyyy." Said another inkling behind him, and she looked back at Basil sitting at the coffee table doing homework. "She's gonna put it in her mouth, Sam."

"I know but we can't go to the doctor." Sam replied and reached out to pull Olive into his lap.

"So if she gets sick it's really bad...?" Basil asked.

"Yep. Exactly." Sam answered. He reached out to give a fussy Olive the toy back, before he heard noise outside. A car screeching into the driveway, and then the slamming of doors and yelling. His entire body went cold.

"-Basil!" He said quickly. "Basil, let's play hide and seek!"

"...right now?" Basil asked, her face lighting up.

"Yeah! Right now! You go hide somewhere really good and I'll come find you, okay? Go go go!" He said quickly, covering his eyes and starting to count. He waited until he hear Basil jump up from the coffee table and run upstairs somewhere before he took his hand away. He continued to count aloud as he picked Olive up and rushed for the stairs himself. As he reached the top step he yelled out. "Ready or not here I come!"

He heard Basil giggle from somewhere in one of the rooms, and he sighed a little. "...be quiet or I'll find you!"

Her giggling stopped and he sighed with relief as he ducked into a dusty back room and pulled himself into a corner of a dark walk in closet. He pressed Olive tightly to his chest and bounced her a little in hopes that she might fall asleep if it was quiet enough.

He listened as the door slammed open downstairs. He heard it slam closed and then something dumped on the counter. It sounded like glass bottles, and made him feel sick to his stomach. He continued to bounce Olive quietly, relieved to feel her breathing slow down a little as she was falling asleep. He heard his father yelling downstairs but he couldn't quite make it out. He could hear him stomping around the kitchen as well, obviously looking for something - or someone. He glanced at Olive before he grabbed a spare blanket on one of the shelves to wrap her in. He laid her down in the corner before he got up and slipped out the closet door.

His dad wouldn't go looking for Olive or Basil if he had him already.

He made his way down the hall and to the top of the stairs, swallowing his fear as he started to walk down. His dad spotted him pretty quickly and he reached out to grab him by the arm before he was even down the last step.

"-you." He hissed, leaning over him. Sam could smell the alcohol on his breath. "Where have you been, huh?!"

"U-Upstairs. I was doing homework." He said quickly.

"...you and y-your piece of shit mother c-can't even be here to say hello when I get home." He hissed, gripping his arm so hard it made him whine. He yanked him off the stairs and let go of his arm so he could watch him stumble to the floor with a yelp. He then scoffed. He picked him up again just to shove him down again and hear him hiss in pain. "...you're such a wimp. Sorry excuse for a _son_." He said, kicking him in the ribs when he was down and watching him curl up on his side. "...then I-I had two _daughters._ Where a-are they anyways?" He asked, and looked around.

Sam's heart skipped a beat. He suddenly reached out and hit his dad in the knee as hard as he could. "H-Hey!" He yelled as angrily as he could. He couldn't find them, not today.

His father's head snapped down to look at him. "...did you just hit me?" He hissed.

"...y-yeah. I did." Sam answered with as much confidence as he could muster. He watched his father lean down and grab him by the throat and shove him into a wall. He damn near choked him as he used his other first to make sure Sam never even _thought_ of trying that again. He focused on hitting him in the stomach so much that Sam swore he tasted blood, and he made sure to leave at least one eye swollen up and purple. He dropped him to the floor, and walked to the couch.

"Get me a beer." He said as he fell back on the couch.

Sam just nodded, and stumbled to his feet. He clutched his stomach as he dragged himself to the kitchen. He brought him back one of the bottles on the counter before he silently went to the stairs and practically crawled up.

He first went to the closet and picked up a thankfully still sleeping Olive. He whispered apologies to her as she woke up from his nap, holding her on his hip as he went to Basil's room. He peeked under the bed, and then in the closet to find her looking up at him. He put on his best smile and reached up to wipe a little blood from the corner of his mouth. "...hey, there you are. I thought I wasn't gonna find you!" Sam said. "That was a pretty good one."

Basil giggled and stood up from her spot. "I thought I won!"

"Yeah, you almost did." He explained. "...but next time you gotta try even harder and hide in a better place...got me?"

She nodded. "Alriiiight. Is it your turn to hide?"

"No...I think you guys have to play in your room really quietly. Dad's home." He said and sat Olive down by his feet. His stomach hurt so bad from the punching, and he found himself just sitting on the floor besides them. He felt like he was going to throw up, and he kept tasting blood. For the first time in a while, he was kind of scared.

What if he hurt him too bad? What if he was going to die?

As he thought, he heard someone unfamiliar yell his name from downstairs. "SAM!" They yelled.

He paused, and blinked. "...uuhhh...who's that?"

"-SAM!" They yelled again. He slowly made himself get to his feet and dragged himself out the door.

"SAM OSA! **SAMUEL!"**

It was then that he jerked awake. He sat bolt upright while clutching his stomach.

"Oh my god I didn't think you were ever going to wake up!"

Sam looked up at who was talking an saw Calamari standing over him, clutching her head with one hand. "I guess you were having a nightmare."

"I-I...y-yeah..." He rasped. He still tasted blood and he reached up to touch the scar on his lip and pulled away to see blood on his fingers. "...O-Oh fuck, did I bite my lip or something?" He muttered. He crawled off the couch and hurried to the bathroom. He leaned over the sink to look in the mirror and saw where he'd bitten his lip in his sleep. He couldn't help but sigh with relief.

"...you have a nightmare so bad you bit your lip?" Cal asked as she followed him to the bathroom. She scoot past him to get into the medicine cabinet and grab some pain killers, taking them with some tap water from the sink.

"...y-yeah I guess so." Sam said. He sounded distant, and he looked at himself in the mirror with a hollow look.

Calamari frowned and reached out to place a hand on his back. "...Sam..." She started carefully. "You okay?"

"...N...No." He admitted. He stumbled over and sat on the side of the tub before burying his face in his hands. When he felt Calamari's hand on his shoulder again he yanked away. "D-Don't." He choked, almost snapped.

She blinked, and took a step back. "...sorry." She whispered. "...d...did I do something?"

"Just..." He looked up over his fingers, tears welling up in his eyes. "P-Please d-don't...don't ever do anything like that again." He begged her. He sounded so small and distant and...broken.

"...you mean..." She stopped, and then her face softened a bit. "...oh the drinking last night?"

When he nodded, she felt guilt form like a stone in her stomach. "Oh I...I didn't realize it would bother you so much."

"S-Some really...r-really fucked up shit happened to me because of that stuff." Sam said. He scowled when saw Calamari's eyes move to the scar on his cheek. "...yeah. Like that fucking eyesore." He snapped. "I got that. That's not even all of it I-" He stopped. He realized he was acting in a way that was totally out of line. He took a deep breath.

"...sorry. I shouldn't...you didn't know I...I'm not angry at you at all I just..." He sighed, and buried his face in his hands again as he finally let himself cry. He'd been holding alot of stuff in it seemed. "I-I don't want to talk about it."

"Okay, okay, then don't." Calamari said quickly. She moved to sit on the floor in front of him. "...don't worry about it, I won't push."

He nodded, doubling over as he cried into his hands. It was painful for Calamari to watch, feeling her chest tighten with anxiety and sadness for him.

"...Sam?" She whispered after a few seconds. "...can I hold your hand?"

He nodded, and she reached out to take his hand away from his face so she could just hold it tightly in her own. He slowly slid off the side of the tub and came to hug her. He pressed his face against her shoulder and gripped the back of her shirt while she just wrapped her arms tightly around him and rested her chin atop his head.

As he calmed down, he let his hands just rest her around her waist and he stared a little blankly at the wall. He didn't really want to move, he just wanted to stay in Calamari's arms.

Calamari was the first one to break the silence. "...I'm...really sorry Sam." She whispered. "I should never have gone so overboard in the first place and I should have...I should have asked you how you felt about it before I did that. I just...never even thought...I grew up in such a nice family with lots of money with a great mom and dad an I ...never even thought..."

"It's alright." Sam said quietly. "...I'm sorry I lashed out."

Calamari shrugged the one shoulder Sam wasn't on and moved to kiss his head. "It's alright, I promise. I think I could understand."

Sam nodded, before he picked his head up. He couldn't let himself focus too much on that dream or what he just said. He had to move on, so...he asked her a question. "Hey, Cal..."

"...yeah?"

"...you're rich?"

Calamari blinked, then laughed a little. "Well...my parents are rich."

"No way. I would have never guessed, with you living in a dingy one room apartment in the middle of the city." Sam said with a laugh.

"Well, my parents paid for the apartment. Playing turf wars, even professionally, doesn't exactly win you lots of money. It's enough for me to get other basics out of the way though. I really just wanted to support myself." Calamari explained.

"...inspired by your parents hard work?" Sam asked with a raised brow.

Calamari snorted and rolled her eyes. "...as if. My parents didn't work for their money. So...the grandparents on my mom's side died and left my mom and her brother TONS of money as inheritance. They didn't work one bit for that money. Now...my cousin's dad married some rich lady so they're like...doubly rich but they run a company and so on. We both grew up like these...only rich kids and had to hang out alot. It was great."

"It sounds great. Loving parents? A cool cousin? Money? That's living the dream." Sam answered as he pulled away from her and came to sit opposite of her on the bathroom floor, still holding her hand loosely.

"I wouldn't call my cousin cool, she's comparable to a goblin but everything else is great. Maybe you can come meet my parents sometime."

"-woah! That's some serious relationship talk." Sam said with wide eyes and a goofy grin on his face. You wouldn't have guessed he was crying too minutes ago. "...Me? Meeting your parents?"

"Oh, Sam they'd adore you. But they live far off so...don't worry about it too much." She explained before she glanced back at the bathroom door. "...hey, what do you say we go back to bed? The bathroom floor isn't all the comfortable and my head is killing me."

"Oh...yeah sure, please."

"Cool, come on." She said and got to her feet before helping Sam up. The two went back to her room and she fell into bed and held her arms out for Sam who gladly crawled into bed and snuggled up to her. The two fell back asleep before long, content and happy.


	9. that's a thing?

At work the following Monday Sam found himself sitting in a recording studio, watching Callie and Marie through the glass as they recorded the song they'd shown him a few days ago. He was honestly excited to have them recording so fast, and he already had some great news from Zach about the news.

He sat down in a chair besides a small inkling girl sitting in front of a soundboard. She reached over for a pair of headphones. "Here you go, here's what we've got." She said.

He nodded in thanks, and pulled the headphones over his ears to hear the bit of song that they had. The inkling besides him hit a few buttons, and the song came through on his headphones. If it sounded great on Callie's phone, it sounded _amazing_ in the studio. His face lit up, and as soon as the snippet was over, he pulled the headphones around his neck. He gave them a big thumbs up along with a large grin, before motioning for them to come on out of the booth.

"...It's probably time for a break anyways." He said to the inkling besides him. She nodded in response, sitting back in her chair as the two came through the door.

"What's up?" Callie asked.

"Not much, it's about lunch time." Sam said, glancing at the clock on the wall. "...I figured we could use a break."

"...yeah, thank god. I'm starving." Marie muttered as she leaned on the wall, her eyes on Sam.

"Oh!" Callie gasped when her cousin said that. "Do you just wanna go get lunch? There's that awesome cafe down the street. I've been dying to eat there."

"That sounds awesome, actually." Marie said and stood up straight from the wall. "...you wanna go Sam?"

"Oh, me? Uhhh…" Sam trailed off. He didn't expect the two to ask him to go along. "Sure, if you don't mind."

"Well if I minded I wouldn't have asked." Marie said, smirking at him.

"Yeah! We'd love it if you came along!" Callie said quickly. She was already heading for the door, rather excited about eating. She left Marie and Sam to follow behind her together.

Sam didn't really say anything at first. He wasn't sure what to say really. Callie was way ahead, and Marie...well...he wouldn't say he was intimidated by her. He just...didn't want to look stupid was all. He was a little thankful when she broke the silence first. "...so...you haven't been working there long, right?"

"...nah, I haven't." Sam admitted with a small shrug. "Maybe this isn't the right thing to say but I'm pretty new to the business."

"I figured, Zachary said something about that." Marie said, watching him out of the corner of her eye.

"Oh, good. I'm sure that made you guys feel great about your new manager." Sam said with a small laugh. Come on, Zach. Why did he have to say that?

"It doesn't scare me. He seemed to have a lot of faith in you." She answered quickly. "...I can see why."

Sam looked up at her with the tiniest amount of blush on his cheeks. "...you can?"

"Yeah, like our first meeting...if I hadn't known you were new, I would have guessed you were a pro. You sounded confident."

"O-Oh…" Sam trailed off a little. "Well..that's good. Thank you, I appreciate you saying that. It helps…Zach kind of...picked me up off the street and gave me a job out of nowhere so it's… I don't know, it's good to know I'm doing a good job?"

"No problem." Marie said with a small smile that Sam found very cute. She watched Callie run up to the door of the Cafe and pull the door open for them.

"Come on!" She called. "You guys are so slooowww."

Marie rolled her eyes and continued to walk at the same pace. She got to the door with Sam, and he reached out to hold it open for the both of them. They thanked him and walked inside.

Callie led them to a back corner booth that was sickeningly familiar to Sam, and he tried not to show that as he sat down besides Callie, across from Marie. Callie was already talking about what sounded good on the menu while Marie looked over hers quietly. His eyes lingered on her for a bit, and he found himself with the same butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling he got when he looked at Calamari.

He suddenly felt an elbow in his side, and he glanced over at Callie with wide eyes. She was just giving him a small, knowing grin. She'd seen that same look on Marie's face recently. Sam blushed bright red and glared at her a little.

"...soooo…"

They both looked up when Marie started talking. She was looking at them both with raised eyebrows. "...what are you guys getting?"

Callie looked away from Sam, "I think I'm getting that chicken club. I think I know what Sam wants too…"

"...uh yeah I was looking at that too." Sam said quickly, and glanced at her. Goddamn it don't tease him, he's got a girlfriend Callie.

"...right. I think I know what I want." Marie said, and put her menu down. "Anyways, hey Sam so did you ask Zach about the news?"

"Oh!" Sam's face lit up, "Oh okay okay, guess what? He said yes! We can put you guys on the news sometimes! We're going to try just like...a trial run of it here in a few weeks just to see how everyone likes it. If you guys are a good fit, maybe we can get you on the news more!"

"Oh nice!" Callie said quickly. "That sounds awesome!"

"I know! I'm really excited! I think the way both of your personalities balance out will help too." Sam explained. "I'll talk about it more the closer we get to it though."

"Awesome," Marie said with that small smile.

It was hard for Sam not to watch her too much for just about the rest of the day. It didn't help that Callie kept catching him doing it and grinning at him. He felt pretty guilty about it, and he knew he should. For fuck's sake he had a girlfriend.

At the end of the day, Callie and Marie came by his office. "-hey Sam!" Callie said when she poked her head in. "I wanted to ask, should we come in tomorrow?"

"Oh uhhh...yeah let's go ahead and have you come in tomorrow. I'll let you guys meet the current news people so you can see what's going on with that." Sam answered as he leaned back in his chair.

"Alright! We can do that! Also hey...can I ask you a weird question?" Callie asked, stepping into his office. Marie looked inside, glaring at Callie.

"...uh...yeah sure?"

Callie glanced at Marie, before she opened her mouth to ask. "...what happened to your face?"

" _Oh my god Callie you can't just ask people what happened to their face."_ Marie hissed. "I told you not to ask!"

"N-No it's alright!" Sam said quickly, not wanting them to fight or anything. He bit his lip, trying hard not to look as uncomfortable as he felt. "...u-uh...let's just say it was a...really bad accident."

"Like a car accident?" Callie asked, and Marie smacked her arm.

"...no like a...people accident, it's…"

"He doesn't want to talk about it Callie." Marie said. She could see on his face how uncomfortable he was with this conversation.

"Okay okay, I was just curious what happened. I didn't mean to be rude." Callie said, and walked back to the door. "Sorry, Sam. I'll see you tomorrow."

"I-It's alright, I'll see you." He said, and Callie slipped out the door. Before Marie followed, she glanced back.

"...sorry, about her…" She started. "...she has no filter. Or common sense. Or tact...but…hey uh…" She trailed off, glancing down. "...I hope I'm not out of line to say this but it doesn't look that bad. I...think it makes you look alright. Kinda badass."

Sam's face went red again. "...o-oh. Well thanks…"

She nodded, and looked back at the door. "No problem. I'll see you tomorrow." She said, and quickly ducked out the door just leaving Sam staring at it.

He had an issue.

Sam felt pretty guilty coming home that night. He kissed Cal hello and talked to her about he day and stuff, but other than that he was kind of quiet. While Calamari was sometimes pretty socially inept, she picked up on his silence.

"...what's going on, Sam?"

"Nothing, why?" He asked and glanced up at her.

"Bullshit, something's going on. What's wrong?"

Sam stared at her before he sighed and sat back in his seat. "...I have a major problem and you're going to kill me."

"While I'm pretty damn cool and also rich, the laws of this land protect you and I'm not above them so I won't kill you. What's going on?"

"...you remember how I said I was managing those two girls now? Callie and Marie?" Sam asked as he stared at literally anything but her.

"Mhm."

"...Marie is...really cute."

"Oohhh...as cute as me?" Calamari asked with a small laugh.

" _Yeah she's as cute as you and she's just like you and that's the issue!"_ Sam said quickly, his face going red.

"So you like her?"

"Yes!" Sam said quickly, burying his face in his hands.

"...sooo...ask her out?" Calamari said with a shrug, and watched his head snap up and he stared at her with wide eyes for a moment before he narrowed them.

"Oh don't fuck with me Cal. I'm not breaking up with you or anything! I'm just being honest with you about what's wrong." Sam grumbled.

"No, I know. I mean it, go ask her out." Calamari explained. "I'm not going to be mad."

"...Cal we're dating."

"I know. Sam…" Calamari sat forwards. "...I'm dead serious when I say ask her out. I know that usually relationships come with the 'exclusive' tag but I really don't mind if we're not. If you feel that way...then go for it. I trust you."

Sam blinked, and stared at her like she just spoke a foreign language. "..I… can do that?"

"Yeah, you can do that." Calamari said. "Sooo… ask her out."

Sam took a second to really think about that, before he shook his head. "Okay… not yet. But… maybe soon."

Calamari nodded, smiling. "...good luck, when you do."

"...thank you."


	10. Happy Birthday!

Things with the Squid Sisters took off once their first song was out. Sam was happy to find himself humming along to the song on the radio as he moved a rickety old table into his new apartment. He set it down in the kitchen before turning to see Pepper and Calamari carry a couch into the main room.

"Just put it down wherever!" He said quickly.

They both got it out of the doorway and sat it down by the window. "Where'd you get this, Sam?" It's old." Cal asked as she shook her cramping hands.

"A garage sale! Pretty good deal, right?"

"...well...it's somewhere to sit." Pepper shrugged, and decided to sit on the arm himself.

"Maybe I'll save up for a better one. Or maybe I'll get a raise. Callie and Marie really took off!" Sam said with a hopeful grin.

"Oh yeah, aren't they basically the Inkopolis News now?" Calamari asked as she sat down as well.

"Yeah, basically. Zachary moved the old news anchors to another position so Callie and Marie could have it full time." Sam said and put his hand on his hips in a proud stance. "...it's crazy what a month will do."

"It's crazy what a good _manager_ will do." Pepper said with a equally proud smile.

Sam smiled sheepishly. "...they've just got lots of talent. And personality."

"You're not wrong." Calamari muttered. "Anyways...we got the table, bed, couch… anything else we need to move in?"

"No that's it! I'm pretty much moved in. Got the basics." Sam said.

Pepper raised an eyebrow as if to say 'this is all you've got?' before Calamari cut in. "Good, cool. I can take a nap before we go out later."

"Oh, nice where are you going?" Sam asked quickly.

"It's Shrimp and Sal's birthday, we're just gonna go out later and get dinner or something." Calamari explained with a shrug. "You wanna go?"

"Oh no I'm alright. Callie and Marie have a concert later I gotta be there." Sam sighed, and sat on the coffee table they brought in earlier. "Happy Birthday to them though!"

"I'll let them know you said that." Calamari said, then paused as if she thought of something. "...Hey Sam, when is _your_ birthday?"

"Oh, my birthday?" Sam asked sounding surprised. He sort of looked like no one had asked him that question before. "Uuuhhhh…."

There was an uncomfortably long silence before Cal spoke up. "...please tell me you know when your birthday is."

"...nnnoooo I...do not." Sam finally admitted. He saw the look that Calamari and Pepper were giving him and he quickly put up his hands in defense. "Okay listen, I'm the oldest out of three. My parents didn't ever like...say when my birthday was and it's not like I had an older sibling to remember when my birthday is so I just...never...found out?"

"You've never celebrated your birthday? Ever?" Pepper slowly asked.

"No not really, I really just focused on making sure my sisters had a birthday. I never asked." Sam said with a shrug. "...would you guys stop looking at me like I'm an alien."

"We're going to the public records office right now, we're going to get your birth certificate and we're going to find out when your birthday is and we're gonna celebrate it." Calamari said as she stood and walked to the door, motioning for them to follow.

"...so no nap?" Sam asked with a little disappointment.

"No nap until we know when your birthday is, come on!"

He followed her out to the car and climbed in the front seat. He seemed pretty puzzled by all of this. Calamari took him up to the office and waited in line with him. She walked up to the counter with him after a little bit of waiting. The woman smiled, "Hello, what can I do for you two?"

"I need a birth certificate."

"Oh, alright, what's the name?" She asked, looking to the computer in front of her.

"U-Uh...Samuel Osa." Sam spoke up.

She did a little typing. "...John and Mimi Osa?" She asked after a second, and Sam nodded grimly.

"Yeah, those are my parents."

She turned around as the printer behind her started up and spit out a piece of paper which she promptly handed to them. "Here's a copy, anything else?"

"No, no that's it. Thank you!" Calamari said, and hurried off to the side of the room with her, Pepper and Sam. "...okay. If you want to place bets on when his birthday is now is the time."

Pepper kind of hummed. "...I'll put $5 on August."

"We're literally in August, as if his birthday would be so soon. I'll put $5 on….May." Calamari said, and glanced at Sam.

He looked between them, before putting his hands up. "I'm not gonna bet on when my own birthday is that sounds weird."

"...okay, okay fine. Ready?" Calamari asked, before turning the paper over and looking for his birthday. She found it right at the top. "Born to John and Mimi Osa...August 21st."

"I'll take my five now, thanks." Pepper said and held his hand out, to which Cal just slapped his hand.

"There's your five. Anyways, damn Sam your birthday is literally in a week. How convenient to the plot!" Calamari said. "...we can actually plan for your birthday."

"...huh. You don't have to, I'm not really like...dying for one. I've gone without. I don't see the big deal." Sam said after a long moment and just shrugged.

"Uh, we'll make sure it's an awesome party, alright? Everyone needs a birthday party at least once. Right, Pepper?"

"I gotta agree." He said. "...we'll do something for you Sam!"

"...well, if you're sure…" Sam said uneasily.

"We're sure! Come on, now we know when your birthday is we can actually nap." Calamari said, heading for the door. Sam followed eagerly in hopes of getting to nap with her.

The rest of the week seemed to go quietly. He didn't mention his birthday again, and neither did Calamari. However, it was obvious she was planning something.

He found himself working from home alot when Callie and Marie took over his office. They said that it was a matter of national security, and he'd thank them later. He just...kind of blinked, and decided to work at his apartment instead, only coming up to the studio for the news sessions. He sometimes found himself just hanging out at Calamari's apartment, just like today.

He glanced up over his phone at the news. They were saying something about the mysterious disappearance of the great zapfish, which he totally zoned out.

"Why don't you just turn the TV off, Sam?" Calamari said without glancing up from the weapon she was fixing.

"...yeah, I guess. Can we turn the radio on?" He asked, looking back over the couch at her sitting at the workbench.

"Sounds good to me." She muttered, and Sam reached over for the controls to turn the TV off and turned the Radio on instead. The first thing that came on was classical music.

"Oh, damn, sorry I turned that on to fall asleep the other night." Calamari said quickly. "You can change it."

"...just to fall asleep?" Sam asked, and he looked at her with a rather judgmental look on his face.

"Yeah, I mean that's what classical music is basically for right?"

"Uh, no." Sam said quickly, turning the radio up a little bit.

"...what, you like classical music?" Calamari asked with a raised brow.

"...yeah, I do actually." He answered and crossed his arms.

Calamari actually looked up from her work to watch him for a few seconds before she spoke again. "...you're not joking, huh? You manage pop stars, you deal with pop music all day long….and your favorite kind of music is _classical_?"

"Yep! I never got to listen to it much when I was a kid but now I can and I absolutely love it." Sam said just a little defensively.

"...oh, well...okay in my self defense I really thought you were joking at first or just fucking with me but...if you _really_ like classical music...then alright that's fine." She said.

"...soooo….we can listen to it?" Sam asked in a hopeful tone.

"We can listen to it." Calamari said, and smiled when Sam smiled too. He walked over to her and leaned down to kiss her cheek. "...you're the best girlfriend." He muttered.

She laughed a little, and suddenly pulled away when Sam kissed her ear too and made her shriek a little. "-h-hey oh my god don't do that!"

He kind of laughed, "Sorry, sorry." He said, just resting his chin on her shoulder a little and nuzzling the crook of her neck.

"...good lord are you feeling snuggly or what?" She asked, turning her head a little to kiss his head.

"Yeeaaahhh...maybe you should take a break from working on that and just snuggle with me." He suggested.

She paused, acting like she was thinking about it. "...hmmm...I don't know Sam…"

"Come on, pleeaasseeee…?"

She sighed, then smirked at him. "Weellll okay. I guess so."

She put the screwdriver she was using down, and stood up to walk over to the couch. She sat down on the end, and Sam took his place next to her and wrapped his arms around her waist. She wasn't surprised to find him fast asleep in the next five minutes. She just smiled, and picked up her phone to look around for tickets to the next classical concert she could find.

The morning of his birthday, Sam was awoken by his phone ringing at his bedside table. He opened his eyes, blinking away sleep as he reached out for it and answered it without even looking at who it was. "..hello…?"

"Morning, Sam." Calamari said on the other end of the line. "You sound like you just woke up."

"Yeah kind of…" He said and sat up. "...what's going on?"

"What time do you get off work tonight?"

"Uhh like...five. Maybe. It depends on if Callie and Marie are still using my office as a makeshift CIA." He answered as he slowly climbed out of bed.

"Okay, well try and get off work by three. Wear some nice clothes, meet me at my place okay? We've got a date. A birthday date." Calamari said quickly.

"A birthday date wh...oh yeah." He said, and glanced at the calendar on his wall.

"...you almost forgot, huh?" Calamari laughed,

"Y-Yeah I...hey I've never had a birthday before, okay?" Sam said with as sleepy grin.

"I know, I know...listen I know you have to be at work soon I just wanted to tell you that...and, Happy Birthday."

"...thank you Cal," Sam said. "I really gotta go but I'll see you later today, okay?"

"Alright, I'll see you." She said, then paused. "...hey, love you."

That really made Sam smile. "...love you too, Cal. Bye."

Once he hung up, he started to get ready to go into work. He pulled his hair up into a makeshift bun and pulled on some nice clothes. He grabbed a granola bar on his way out the door and he was on his way to work. When he got there, he prayed to the squid god that he had his office back but was disappointed when he pushed open his door and saw Callie and Maire sitting at his desk.

"Oh my god you're still here." He said, his shoulders sagging.

"Oh my god we're still here." Marie said, not taking her eyes off the screen. Callie didn't even talk, she seemed hooked.

"...sooo...are you guys gonna tell me what's going on yet?" Sam asked as he sat his stuff on the desk.

"No because it's a matter of national security." Marie said, before cursing under her breath at something on the screen.

"Okay well, it's my birthday and apparently that's a big deal so all I want for my birthday is to find out what's going on." Sam said as he crossed his arms.

"Happy Birthday," Marie muttered then went silent.

He kind of rolled his eyes, and then suddenly marched around the desk to lean over their shoulders and see what they were looking at. He saw a radio sitting by Callie's hand, and on the screen was like a view from someone's gopro. The person shot down a creatuer that was just a tentacle.

"Who are we watching?"

Marie kind of sighed with defeat. "...this is Agent Three."

"...oh. Agent three." Sam repeated. "What is agent 3 doing?"

"Agent 3 is trying to get the Great Zapfish back from the Octarians. Remember them from school?"

"Oh, oh yeah!"

"Right. So we're helping her get it back, and we're talking to her from like...the radio."

"...huh. Okay…" Sam trailed off. He wasn't totally sure how to respond to that. "...can I help at all?"

"Not really, but...keep it hush." Marie said before she grabbed the radio. "Take a break, three. We'll be back later, alright?"

Callie sighed and stood up straight. She turned to see Sam. "-oh, hey Sam when did you get here?"

"Sam's _been_ here." Marie muttered, sitting back in the chair.

"Oh, sorry. I was too caught up with three. It's so scary, she's out there risking her life." Callie said quickly.

"Yeah it looks dangerous." Sam said and glanced at the clock. "Sorry to be your boring bossy manager but you guys really need to get out on the set, though."

"Yeah, I guess so. Come on Callie." Marie said and stood to usher her cousin towards the door. As soon as Callie was out the door, she paused. "...hey Sam?" She asked.

"...yeah?"

"Sorry about earlier. I really meant it when I said happy birthday." She said and stepped over to take his hand as she looked up at him. "...we really should go out to celebrate, me and you."

Sam's face went a little red. "Y-You think so?"

"Yeah. I'm sure you've got plans tonight but...maybe tomorrow?"

"Yeah!" He said quickly. "That sounds awesome!"

"Alright, then I'll see you tomorrow." She said, squeezing his hand and taking her hand away to leave.

Sam was left staring at the door, blushing like an idiot.

He stayed for a few of the shows, but ultimately left early. He texted Calamari on the way home to ask exactly how fancy he needed to dress, and groaned a tiny bit when she answered 'very fancy'.

He took a little bit to get dressed, putting his hair up in a nicer way than normal and putting on the nicest thing he had. At five, he showed up at Calamari's door and knocked. He nervously straightened his jacket out as he waited.

Calamari answered the door a few moments later, and he found himself looking up at the most beautiful inkling he felt like he'd ever seen. She wore an elegant looking cream dress along with white heels that made her taller than she already was.

"...oh my god Cal you look _amazing_." Was the first thing he said to her as he stared at her slack jawed.

She smiled, "Aww thank you Sam, you look pretty good yourself." She said and stepped aside to let him in. She leaned down (much farther than normal, thanks to the heels) to kiss him. "...happy birthday." She whispered when she pulled away.

"Thanks," He said softly, keeping an arm around her waist when she pulled away. "So where are we going that you have to look so beautiful?"

"It's kind of a surprise." She said, grabbing her keys off the hook by the door, "You ready to go?"

"Yeah, I'm all good!" He said, and turned to open the door for her and locked the door behind him when they left. He held an arm out for her as they walked out ot her car, which made Cal blush and chuckle just a little.

She drove them more downtown, and parked just down the street from a very large, fancy building. Sam again offered her arm as they walked, and he took her to the front doors. It was then, he finally seemed to realize where they were.

He looked up at Cal with wide eyes. "-oh my god Cal."

She grinned down at him. "...yeah?"

"Oh my god Cal are we gonna see a concert?"

"Oh my god Sam we are." She said as her grin grew wider.

"...a classical concert?"

"A classical concert."

" _I get to see a classical concert? In person?!"_

"Absolutely." She said, watching him jump up and down a little like a child.

"Oh my god I could kiss you-" He said quickly. He could barely contain himself as they turned in tickets and went to find their seats.

Calamari had never seen someone so excited, especially about classical music. Even if she was close to falling asleep the entire time, Sam was leaning forwards in his seat to watch the people in the orchestra and the conductor, and his fingers and feet tapped along with the music. She found it quite cute.

The concert felt a little bit like it dragged on forever for her, but when it was finally over Sam sighed and sat back in his seat. "...awwww man...that was so good." He said.

"You liked it?" She asked hopefully.

"Liked it? I loved it! If I went back in time and told 14 year old me that one day I was going to be at a live concert he'd lose his goddamn mind. He also wouldn't believe me, especially if I said I went to see it with my girlfriend but...anyways whatever. I just...oh my god thank you so much." He said quickly.

"...I'm really glad you enjoyed it." Cal said with a smile before she asked. "...hey, you hungry?"

"Now that you mention it I'm starving." Sam replied, slowly getting up from his seat and stretching a little.

"Good, I hope you don't mind but I did kind of reserve a spot at that restaurant you liked so much."

"-oh my god did you really? Hell yeah!"

Calamari laughed and got to her feet to walk out with him, making their way down the street hand in hand. She was thankful the restaurant was nearby, because these heels were probably going to kill her. They walked inside, and Calamari told the hostess their names. She brought them both over to their table which he was shocked to find was a long table with quite a few people at it.

He saw Callie and Marie, Zach, Pepper, Sal and Shrimp. He definitely noticed Marie's sneaky little grin.

"Holy shit everyone's here." Sam said as everyone waved and greeted him with happy birthdays and hellos.

Callie stood to hug him tightly. "You look great, Sam!" She said with a gigantic grin. She straightened his jacket a little bit and stepped back to glance at her Cousin. "What do you think Marie?"

"Very, very good looking." She answered, resting her chin in her hand as she watched him.

Sam's face went red and he playfully rolled his eyes a little, smiled and went to sit besides her and across from Calamari. "...thanks, you two." He said. "Actually thanks to all you guys, I didn't think I was gonna get to have dinner with everyone."

"Of course! Calamari said you'd never celebrated your birthday before." Zach said. "There's no way we could pass that up!"

He kind of laughed. "I guess not. Thank you guys…."

The rest of the night was wonderful. He chatted with the others, ate some delicious food and he was even shocked to find out he had presents. That part _really_ seemed to blow his mind. Everyone had gotten him some stuff he needed for work, even so far as Calamari getting him a new laptop. He hated to admit it, but there were definitely tears at some point.

By the time he got home, he was exhausted but...he felt so happy. He felt happier than he'd been in his entire life. He had friends, a girlfriend, his own place, a job...

Now, more than ever, he felt like the luckiest man in the world.

Hey guys! I just wanted to say thank you SOOOO much for reading! I appreciate all the reviews and messages, it makes me so happy!

I actually wanted to share my friend code with you guys. I play as my own characters a bunch, so if you think you can kick Calamari's ass at turf war then try your hand. (You can, I suck at splatoon).

FRIEND CODE!: SW-7112-2620-8829


	11. It's time to i-i-i-i-i-i-i-i-ink turf!

At the end of fall just as Calamari had said, Surf N' Turf was packing up their bags for nationals. They had to travel to a town a few hours out, so they started early morning on Thursday, so they could be there and rested on Friday morning for the first game.

Sam was sure to get up early so he could be there to see them off. "Heyyyy…" He said softly to Calamari when he saw her, pulling her into a hug and getting on his tiptoes to kiss her good morning.

"Hey," She muttered, reaching up to rub her eyes. It seemed she was still trying to wake up. "..how are you?"

"I'm fine, how are you feeling?" Sam asked as he watched her curiously.

"Really, really sleepy." She muttered, closing her eyes for just a second. "When are you gonna leave to get out there?"

"I'm gonna leave...I don't know, probably after work today unless something horrible happens." He shrugged.

She nodded. "Alright, just text me when you leave….alright? We'll be waiting for you at the hotel, I think. We're just gonna take it easy today. Our first game is really early."

"Oh yeah, text me the time for sure! I wanna be there!" He said quickly. He got a big grin on his face as he reached out to take her hands. "...I'm so excited!"

"I'm glad you are." She said with a soft laugh, squeezing both his hands. "...you think we're gonna win?"

"I'm confident!" Sam said. "I'd bet money on it."

She nodded, and suddenly they heard Shrimp yell from the car. "Come on love birds, we gotta leave!"

Calamari laughed, and held up a finger for them. "Hang on guys, let me say goodbye."

"Uggghhh just hurry up!" Shrimp said, climbing into the backseat.

Calamari kind of sighed, and she leaned down to kiss him. "I love you, be safe when you're driving out there, alright?"

"I love you too, you be safe too! I'll probably worry…" Sam admitted after he pulled away.

"Well, don't. Pepper and I are good drivers." She assured him, and leaned down to kiss his head before she turned to walk to the car. "Bye Sam!" She called.

"...see you later, Cal." He answered, and watched her climb in the car before they drove off. His shoulders slumped a little. He really was a little worried about her….

He tried to put the worry out of his mind as he made his way back home to get ready for work. He did his normal morning routine, the hair bun, the nice outfit, the granola bar and just as he was grabbing his coat off the hook his phone buzzed.

He pulled it out of his pocket, and blinked to see Marie's name on the screen. He swiped to answer. "...hey, Marie?"

"I need you to get up to work as fast as you can." Marie said as soon as she heard him.

"...huh? Is something wrong?" Sam asked, pausing halfway through putting his jacket on.

"Yeah but I can't really explain it over the phone, you gotta come up to work, now." She said hurriedly. "Please tell me you'll be here soon?"

"Y-Yeah I was just about to leave, I'll get there as fast as I can." Sam said, putting his phone between his ear and shoulder as he pulled his jacket fully on and walked out the door. "I-Is someone hurt or sick or...something?"

"Again, can't explain it over the phone. Meet me here," She said before he heard the beep of an ended call. He had a horrible knot in his stomach as he climbed down the stairs and started his walk to work. The entire way, his mind was clouded up with ideas and thoughts and anxiety.

He rushed through the front door, barely saying hi to Katie as he hurried to the elevator and hit floor 3. He tapped his foot, feeling like it couldn't go fast enough.

He brought himself to his office, and as he walked in he saw Callie and Marie, along with two inklings he didn't know. One was quite old with a white beard, and large rectangular glasses and buggy eyes. The other was an inkling girl, maybe freshly 14 with oranges eyes that would have been piercing if they weren't clouded up by tears.

"...h...hey guys." He said as he slipped into his office and shut the door. "...what's going on?"

"Oh, thank god you're here." Callie said, and quickly stood from the younger inkling's side. "Sam I need you to meet our grandfather, everyone calls him Cap'n Cuttlefish and I need you to meet Sara…" She said, placing a hand on the younger inkling's shoulder. "...she was agent three."

Sam nodded to Cuttlefish, but his concern was more on the inkling. "... _was_ agent three?" He asked.

"Well, we got the great zapfish back, and defeated DJ Octavio." Marie explained. "She...came back to Inkopolis and went home to see her parents and...she couldn't…"

Sam frowned, and Callie reached out to hand him a folded piece of paper. As he opened it, he read the words "Coroner's Notice". He slowly looked up at Sara, who sat in his office chair with her knees pulled up to her chest. He just looked to Callie and Marie, his face totally fallen.

"...so we...kind of have a problem. There's no way she can be on her own." Marie said. "That's kind of the emergency. I know you just got into your own place but…" She trailed off reluctantly.

"Right no, if she needs to she can stay with me, if she wants to." He said quickly. He was eager to make sure she had somewhere to stay, he'd hate for someone to go through what he did.

Everyone kind of looked at Sara, who let her legs down from the chair.

"...well? You can stay with Sam, he's a really good guy, I swear. Keep going to school and try to live a normal life." Callie said quickly. "Or...you can still stay with gramps too. If you want to continue to be an agent…."

Sara's eyes flickered between Cuttlefish and Sam. "...I-I...don't know I…" She started in a small voice. "...I-I think I-I'd rather be with Cuttlefish.."

"That's fine by me." Cuttlefish said quickly. "...I sure could use the help."

"...okay, if you're sure." Marie said, and glanced at Sam. "I just wanted you to have the option for something….quieter."

Sara nodded, "...thanks, Marie." She whispered.

After a moment, Sam stepped forwards. "...Sara?" He said quietly, coming to kneel in front of her so they were totally eye level. "...I know you don't know me I…" He trailed off a little, trying to figure out what to say to her. "...I'm really sorry this happened to you. It's...so awful to...to lose your parents I know, and your home…If...If you ever need anything please come tell me." He said. "...I'll give you my number so you can call me or text me or whatever, how about that?"

Sara watched him a little carefully before she nodded. "Y-Yeah, that'd be good…" She whispered.

"Okay, I'll write it down for you, hang on." He said and grabbed a post-it note from his desk and scribbled it down to hand it to her. "Here you go, don't hesitate, alright?"

She nodded, glancing down at it before putting it in her pocket.

"Alright Sara, you want to head out with gramps for a while or you want to hang around? I'm sure Sam wouldn't mind…" Marie said.

"The breakroom is a really good napping room, actually." Callie muttered.

"Y-Yeah that...that'd be good." She said, and Callie reached out for her hand.

"I think we're gonna go take a long nap or something guys, I'll see you later for the show. We might have to skip the first one." She said and shrugged. "...you know, emergencies and all that."

Sam kind of sighed and plopped down in his chair once Sara stood up and followed Callie out the door. "...I guess we'll have to skip the first one, yeah." He said as Marie pulled up a chair besides him and gramps silently slipped out, just leaving the two.

Sam had to make a few calls at first, telling the assistants and crew that the first show was going to be skipped due to unforeseen circumstances and told them to either run an announcement, or whatever they wanted to run. Once he was done with that, he put his phone down and sunk into his chair.

"...I really appreciate you, you know...being willing to help." Marie said softly. "Sara's...destroyed. She's so upset."

"...yeah. I know." He said with a rather distant look on his face. He felt Marie take his hand, and he just squeezed it a little, and they were quiet as Sam turned to his computer to try and answer some emails and make whatever calls he needed, while Marie scrolled through her phone.

The two never let go of each other's hands.

As promised Sam left work early. He hugged Marie and waved to Callie as he left, and on his way home he pulled out his phone to call Calamari. He still had a pit in his stomach after this morning, and although normally staying silent was his normal coping method...that didn't seem to be working.

He sighed a little with relief when he heard her pick up. "...hey Sam." Cal said. "You fixing to leave?"

"Y-Yeah I am, you guys at the hotel?" Sam asked, coming to stop at a street corner and waiting for his turn to walk.

"Yeah we got here a few hours ago. We've just been hanging out. What time do you think you're going to get here?" She asked.

"Oh...I'll leave in thirty minutes so…" He glanced at the watch on his hand. "Six or so."

"...cool, maybe we can go get dinner." She said. "...how was work?"

"...that's what I wanted to talk to you about." Sam said after a long moment of silence.

"Oh no. I don't like that tone, what happened?" Cal asked after hearing the way he spoke.

"So...Marie called me this morning." He explained as he started walking. "She said there was an emergency so I came up there and...you remember how they took over my office for a while?"

"Oh, yeah yeah."

"Right. So they were doing this top secret stuff with someone they called Agent Three and she was just a little inkling...she came back from her mission for Callie and Marie and found out her parents died and she was by herself s-so...Marie wanted to give her a choice between living with me or their grandfather which I didn't mind either. She decided to live with their grandpa but...I don't know her story is really bothering me." Sam said. He was trying to keep his voice steady although he felt terrible.

"...ohhh…" Cal started softly. "...yeah that's tough to have to see. Especially...god, how old was she?"

"Fourteen, I think. She looked young." Sam answered, reaching up a little bit of tears out of his eye.

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that Sam," Calamari said.

"I-I just...I don't know I…" He trailed off and thought as he tried to find a good way to say what he needed to. "I-I've been vague about...s-stuff with what happened before we met I don't want to be not vague but...I don't know it...I guess it hits close to home and I feel so bad. I didn't want anyone to have to suffer like that and…"

"I know, I don't think anyone wants anyone to suffer like that." Calamari said, before pausing. "...well sometimes people do but they're not healthy and we don't talk about them. Anyways, you get my point. It's okay to feel upset about it…"

"...yeah, I guess so." Sam said as he made his way up the stairs to his apartment and dug out his keys. "...Sorry. I really shouldn't be bothering you about this when you've got nationals on your plate."

Calamari kind of scoffed. "What the fuck are you talking about? I think you're kind of more of a priority. I want to help, I kind of love you, you know?"

"...I'm more of a priority than your career?" Sam asked as he pushed the door open.

"Nationals can happen again, but you're like...an actual person who is also my boyfriend whom I love very much so….yes." She said, sounding sure of herself.

"...Cal not to be dramatic or anything, but I think that's the most anyone has ever cared for me in my entire life." Sam said. "You're gonna make me cry."

"You're such a cry baby." She teased. "...hey, you need to hurry up and get over here so I can hug you. I hate not being able to give you a hug when you're upset."

"Yeah I miss the hug. I-I'll let you go so I can get everything in the car and hurry off, I'll text you when I'm closer, alright?"

"Alright. Don't worry too much about that girl though...okay? It sounds like she's in good hands. And hey…."

"...yeah?"

"Love you. Be careful."

Sam smiled. "...of course. Love you too. Bye." He said before pulling the phone from his ear to hang up. He had to admit, he did feel a little better after talking to her. He was now all the more eager to get going. He picked up his packed bags and put them in the car he was borrowing. As soon as he was sure he was ready, he was off.

He had a little bit of time to think, but he tried hard not to do that. He rolled down the windows and turned on a classical station and tried to hum along, think about the different parts of the music. Anything but himself, or his parents or his sisters.

He was thankful to finally pull into the hotel parking lot. He texted Calamari he was here before heading inside with his stuff. Calamari met him in the lobby, and the first thing she did was pull him into a tight hug. "...how are you feeling?" She asked,

"...uhhh...I haven't allowed myself to think and I don't intend to think anymore so…"

"...that's not exactly a healthy way to cope."

"...well, let's not think about that either." Sam said, and pulled away. "...let me get checked in and all that...what about dinner? You still want to go out?"

"Oh yes please, I'm starving!" She said quickly. "...you mind if the team comes? Maybe we can have a night by ourselves before we leave."

"Yeah, that's fine. I'd like that…I'll meet you up in your room here in a bit, alright?" He said, and she nodded letting go of his hand to head back upstairs.

It felt like the weekend flew by. Sam was at every game, watching from the outside as Surf n' Turf climbed their way to the top. Right before their final game, Sam found his way down to the locker rooms, showing an ID to security so he could get in to see Calamari and the others.

"-hey!" He said as he stepped into the room, and the others looked up. Cal's face lit up, and she hurried off the bench to hug him.

"Hey! I didn't even know they would let you back here!" She said quickly.

"I had to use my charm and name to get in." He said with a wink. "You know, everyone knows Samuel Osa."

Calamari laughed a little, "Oh yeah, it's a household name." She said.

"What are you doing down here?" Sal asked, before Shrimp stuck his tongue out.

"You come to see your giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiirlfriend?" He teased.

Sam reached out and put a hand on Cal's waist to pull her against him. "Yes, you got a problem with that?"

Cal shook her head, but put an arm on Sam's head. "...yeah, Shrimp. Got a problem?"

"Yeah it's gross." Shrimp answered, and Sal made a grossed out face.

Cal just leaned down to kiss him, making them groan.

Sam pulled away after a moment, giving the twins a shit eating grin before he just shook his head. "I came to wish you guys good luck, actually."

"Thank you so much, Sam." Pepper said from his seat, smiling softly.

"Yeah, we really appreciate it. I think we're all kinda nervous." Calamari admitted. "...but if we win this…"

"National Champs!" Sal and Shrimp yelled together, making Pepper jump and roll his eyes.

"...okay, okay focus though. Don't get too excited and flustered." He said to them, and they both nodded and sat down on their bench.

"...you got this, I believe it." Sam said quickly, giving them all a firm nod. He glanced at the clock. "...I guess I should head out if I want to watch. Good luck, for real, and don't stress! You've got this in the bag!" He said.

"...thanks, babe." Cal said softly, and leaned down to kiss him just one more time before he had to leave - you know, for good luck.

Sam headed out and grabbed a good view. He was looking down on Kelp Dome from the glass above them. He watched both teams appear on their spawn, and the announcers started their rambling.

The countdown began, and at zero the teams were off. He watched Pepper run forwards with the roller to cover ground and squash anyone in his way while Shrimp found highground to pick the others off. Calamari and Sal both took to inking turf, and taking the others out.

It was an insanely close game, Sam's eyes flickered between each side as green ink became more dominant, only to be covered up by the pink, and back and forth. He saw Calamari go down just as the whistle blew to end the match, and he watched her respawn with fists clenched so tight his knuckles went white. She just looked up at the screen showing the map with clear anxiety. She wasn't sure who had won.

In fact, no one was. Sam saw the turf covered pretty equally between the two, with a clear meeting line in the middle. He held his breath, dragging his fingers down the glass as he waited for Judd to give them the results.

:3c

Thank so much for reading! Chapters are slowing down a bit bc work + school + life, my classes are crazy. I'll get em out when I can! Thanks so much! 3


	12. Samuel L Osa found dead in Miami

Sam woke early in the morning. He looked up to see light just barely filtering through the thin hotel curtains. He kind of sighed, before rolling over to face Calamari, and wrapped an arm around her waist. He nuzzled his face against her back. "...caalll…" He whispered.

He didn't hear her answer, and he eventually sat up a little so he could kiss her forehead. "...Cal…" He whispered.

"Hhm…?"

"Good morning," He whispered, pressing another kiss to her head.

"...morning." She finally whispered back, turning her head to look up at him before she just totally rolled over to face him.

He fell back on the bed, and just reached out to take her hand. "...you know…" He started, glancing up at her hair...tentacles still up in it's normal topknot. "...I can't believe your hair is still up."

"I hate having it down," She muttered. "...I don't think I can express how much I hate having it down."

"...you can't, huh?"

"I can't, I'd die if anyone actually saw me with it down." She admitted. "...actually I need to entrust you with a _very_ important duty."

"...oh?" Sam asked, raising an eyebrow.

"...if my hair is ever down and I can't put it up for whatever reason, you gotta put it up. Even if I'm fucking dead, you got me?" Calamari said, her face was one hundred percent serious.

"I can't tell if you're joking." Sam said after a long moment.

"I am _not_ joking." She said. "I am dead serious."

"...well, okay. If you're serious then I promise I'll put it up for you if I can." He said with a nod.

"...thank you." She said after moment, reaching over to pull Sam a bit closer to her. "You have no idea how much I appreciate that, even if it's stupid."

He pressed his face against her shoulder and nodded, wrapping an arm around her waist again. They rested in comfortable silence for a while, enjoying each other's company before they heard footsteps coming down the hall and the sound of their door practically being busted in .

"-MORNING _NATIONAL CHAMPIONS!"_

Sam jumped and sat bolt upright, looking at Shrimp standing in the doorway with his hands in the air and a big grin on his face.

"...oh my god I'm glad we put clothes back on last night." Cal muttered, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Yeah, me too." Sam muttered back. "...Shrimp you're not supposed to just….bust into people's rooms."

"Yeah well this is our first day as the national champs and I think we gotta celebrate and shit." Shrimp said quickly. "You guys wanna go get breakfast before we have to leave?! Me and Sal are gonna buy!"

"Yeah, that's fine just get out of our room for a bit so we can get dressed." Cal grumbled. "Go bother Pepper."

"Oh, Sal's on it!" Shrimp said, before finger-gunning at them and turning to walk out the door.

The two of them slowly crawled out of bed when the door closed, and they each grabbed some clothes from their suitcases to get dressed. Sam worked on packing his up while he waited on Calamari. He glanced at his phone, reading the time and then the date underneath.

November 20th.

His blood ran cold. Tomorrow was usually a big day, Olive's birthday. He always made sure to celebrate Olive and Basil's birthdays when he could at home, and now Olive wouldn't be able to. Not when she was by herself.

Any background guilt he normally felt about his sisters just tripled. He sat there and stared at his phone until he heard Calamari come out of the bathroom. He immediately turned to her, putting on a smile. "You ready?"

"Yeah, I think so." She said, pulling on some sandals before walking to the door. "Let's go!"

All of breakfast, and all of the ride home Sam seemed to be just staring into space. Calamari tried to get him to talk, but something seemed totally off. He just didn't want to talk.

He was just thinking about how to save Olive. At first, it was just a daydream. Something that wouldn't be possible, but as he took more time to think about it, the more it seemed to be possible after all. If he went that night when they got home, he might be able to break into a window when both his parents were passed out drugged or drunk.

By that night, he had himself totally convinced that he could do it. He stood up from Cal's couch, "...I better go on home." He said after a moment.

She looked up at him, clearly frowning. "You sure you don't want to stay here tonight?" She asked.

"Yeah, I'm alright. I just need to get home." He said, and leaned down to kiss her goodbye. He started to turn away, before he felt Cal grab his hand.

"Sam, wait…" She said quickly. "...is something wrong?"

Sam blinked a little, and put on a smile. "Wrong? No, not at all….why?"

"Ever since this morning something's been off…" Calamari said. "...I know we...you know...the night before I...if something's wrong…"

"-oh! Oh god no, no it has nothing to do with that. I really enjoyed it. It's something really personal…" He admitted, shuffling his feet a little. "I just need to deal with it. I swear, it has nothing to do with you."

"Oh...well that's a relief." She said with a small laugh. "...okay well...you know you can always ask me for help with that stuff? I know you've been quiet about...personal past stuff but...I love you and I want to help."

"...I know." He said softly. "I really appreciate it. I do….if it ever gets bad...I'll tell you." He whispered.

"..you swear?"

"I swear."

"...alright. I trust you." Cal said, squeezing his hand and letting go. "I'll see you later then. Love you."

"Love you too, Cal." Sam said as he headed for the door, grabbed his jacket and headed out. He glanced at his wrist watch then at the moon well up in the sky. Now was the time to try.

His old house wasn't far from Calamari's current place. He found himself looking up at it within fifteen minutes of leaving.

He slowly made his way around the back of the house, and jumped the chain link fence into their old stinky, backyard. He had to shuffle through knee high grass just to get to a back window that he knew from experience was loose and easy to get into it from the outside.

He first pressed his ear to the glass, listening for the sound of voices, relieved to hear nothing. He slowly started to open the window and pushed it to the top before climbing inside.

His feet hit the dusty wooden floor with a soft tap. He turned to close the window as gently as he could before looking around. The room was dark, and he saw only beer bottles and a bit of drug paraphernalia sitting on the coffee table. The only thing that worried him was the shattered beer bottle by the door. His dad was angry, and Olive was the only one to take it out on.

He tiptoed his way to the stairs, and slowly crawled up on all fours as if it would make it any quieter. He snuck down the hall to Olive's room, and reached out to push the door open. Inside, he saw her sitting on her bed with her knees up to her chest. She jumped when the door opened, and scrambled to the corner with a yelp before pausing.

"...S-Sam?" She choked.

"Y-Yeah!" He whispered, hurrying to her bed. "I-I came to get you! You can come home with me, stay with me. You won't have to be here anymore!" He said quickly, reaching out to take her hand.

"S-Sam wait-" She whispered, looking much more scared than happy.

"No no it's fine. They're in bed I think, we can just sneak out. Let me see you, have they been to mean…?" He said, quickly scanning over her. She'd grown in the past year, and their cruelty shown in the form of cuts and bruises all over her.

Olive shook her head quickly, and pulled her hand away before pressing further into the corner. "N-No they're not, S-Sam you g-gotta go-"

"Not without you!" He said, reaching out for her again. "Come on Olive-"

"N-No j-just run!" She said quickly and frantically waved her hand before freezing. She looked up over Sam's head at something in the doorway.

Slowly, he turned to see two tall figures. His stomach sank as he recognized them.

"...look who's back." He heard his mother's voice cut through the silence, making him feel sick. "You come back for your sister? How sweet…"

Sam watched her come closer, something glinting in her hand. He started to push himself back towards the window. "M-Mom-" He choked.

"You remember what I said I'd do if you came back?" She asked as she walked forwards and reached down to grab him by his shirt and yank him up so they were eye to eye. He could see her pinpoint pupils and bloodshot eyes staring at him. "...I said I'd kill you. I don't break promises."

Sam could barely start to get a word out of his mouth before there was a white hot, sharp pain in his side forcing him to gasp for breath. He looked down to see the handle of the knife sticking out of him.

"...where are you going to put the body, Mimi?" His father asked, coming to stand over the two of them.

"Somewhere in the edge of town maybe. Throw him in the ocean, he'll dissolve." She said and reached down to yank the knife out with a short cry from him.

"...that's a bit of a drive." His father answered.

"Then we better start."

His father reached out and grabbed Sam by the tentacles and smashed his head against the wall to knock him out, and everything went totally black.

He only remembered snippets of what happened after that. He remembered opening his eyes and looking at the blurry ceiling of his father's truck before someone hit him in the head again. He remembered the cold concrete beneath him as he was dragged over what was maybe a parking lot. He remembered yelping a little when old wood and rusty nails of the deck scraped against his skin. Terrible, terrible pain in his chest and stomach and a boot on his head and something cold against his throat.

Then he heard the screech of another car in the parking lot and stranger's voices, and his dad's panicked voice. Their footsteps hurrying back down the deck until it was silent, all except for the waves crashing against the shore just lulling him back to sleep. It was so cold. He was so _tired._ He was tired of waking up to the feeling of his head buzzing and then it all going back to black.

He just wanted to sleep, so he closed his eyes and let himself drift into unconsciousness.


	13. I Trust You

Callie paced the floor of the break room, continually glancing at the clock. "Where is Sam?" She muttered.

"Maybe he missed his alarm again." Marie muttered, scrolling through her phone.

"Uuuggghhh. Have you called him?" She asked, going to plop down on the couch besides her.

"...nah I haven't tried. I guess we should, unless you want to." She said as she closed the app and went to her contacts to find him.

"Me? You're the one with his number, cus he's your boyfriend." She teased.

"...okay, one. You sound like one of the 14 year olds that stare at us through the studio window all day. Two. You have his number too, we're in a group chat. You send us memes all day. Three. I'm not dating him, he has a girlfriend." Marie said in the flattest tone she could.

"Right, but don't you wish it was you?" Callie asked.

Marie kind of paused, and shrugged. "...yeah, sure. I won't lie, Sam is a stellar guy, but he's happy with Calamari I'm not going to be a homewrecker."

"...is it a home wreck if they're not married?"

"You get what I mean, Callie!"

She kind of laughed as she watched Marie call Sam. They let it ring, until it just went to voicemail. Marie tried one more time, and only got voicemail once more.

"...huh." Callie frowned, glancing again at the clock. "...I guess we'll do the first show without him."

"If he isn't back or answering his phone by then I'm calling Calamari." Marie muttered, standing to walk out to the studio with clear worry on her face.

The worry didn't go away over the course of the show either. It was clear, at least to Callie, that something was off. They did their little motions for the camera and told them to stay fresh before they could relax. Marie immediately checked her phone.

"Anything?" Callie asked a little anxiously herself.

"...nothing."

"...you gonna call Cal?"

"Yep." She said, pulling up Calamari to call her. She got a sleepy, kind of confused hello.

"-hey, have you seen Sam?" Marie asked quickly.

"...uhhh...not since last night, why?" She answered as she sat up in bed, rubbing sleep from her eyes.

"He's not at work, and we can't get hold of him. I tried texting and calling but...we got nothing." Marie said. "...I'm kind of worried."

Calamari started to wake up a bit more quickly when she described what was going on. She quickly got out of bed to get dressed. "...he was acting _really_ weird yesterday." She explained. "He was acting way out of it. He decided to leave my place early, so I asked if anything was wrong and he said it was a personal problem that he just needed to deal with. He promised he would tell me if he needed help but…"

"He's not going to do that, he's Sam." Marie said as she jumped up off the couch. "...you don't have any idea what the problem was?"

"No, I don't really. He's been really….vague about his personal life before we met and stuff like that so I have...no idea. I just think it was kind of traumatic. Had something to do with alcohol I'm pretty sure."

"...I've got a really bad feeling about this." Marie admitted.

"...yeah. Me too. I'm getting dressed, I'm going to go to his apartment just to make sure he's not there and we're panicking for nothing." Calamari said. "If he's not at his apartment, then I'll call you and we'll see what the hell we need to do. How about that?"

"...yeah, that's perfect, we'll be here."

Calamari hung up and hurried to get dressed, get shoes on, and get her keys (plus Sam's spare) and get out the door. His place was just down the street, up on the third floor. She found his door and rushed to unlock it and push it open.

It was untouched. Sam's bags from the trip were still sitting on the couch where he dropped them off before coming to Calamari's apartment. He wasn't in the bedroom, he wasn't in the kitchen.

Her heart sank as he realized he'd never been home. She immediately grabbed her phone to call Marie. "-uh, he isn't here. He hasn't been home, at all." She explained. "...he left my place last night and never came home."

"...fuck. Okay, I guess we need to call the police and..I'll see if Gramps and Three can help." Marie said, trying to hide the panic in her voice.

"Right. I'll talk to them, I'll start looking too." Calamari answered. "I….I'm sure he couldn't have gone far."

"Call me for anything." Marie said, and once Calamari promised she would she hung up with a terrible feeling in her stomach.

Cap'n Cuttlefish and Sara both agreed to help. Sara seemed especially eager, and Marie could kind of understand why. Sam had been eager to help her, so she was eager to help him.

Everyone spent all day looking. The police didn't seem to be any help, and Cap'n Cuttlefish and Agent Three didn't have much luck either. It left Sam, Callie and Marie sitting quietly at Cal's apartment. Calamari had her head in her hands.

"...I can't believe we haven't found him." She said quietly.

"...I know but...you're trying really hard!" Callie said quickly. She was obviously trying to be optimistic while Calamari and Marie could only imagine the worst.

"I know I'm trying really hard and I'm still failing!" She snapped, before sighing. "...sorry."

Callie just shrugged. "...it's alright. You're stressed." She said and glanced at Marie who sat quietly, watching the clock as seconds ticked by.

Then Calamari's phone lying on the table buzzed. She glanced up from her hands to glare at it, finding it to he a number she didn't know. "Ugh...I don't want to talk to you." She muttered.

"...maybe it's someone calling about Sam?" Callie said, pushing the phone towards her.

Calamari kind of gave her a 'really?' look before she picked it up to answer. They watched her stare at the opposite wall with great annoyance as someone on the other end spoke.

"...yeah, this is her." She started. As the person on the other end talked her face went from annoyed to totally shocked. "-o-oh my god, okay. Okay, we'll be there in a bit. You said by the square…? R-Right. Okay we'll be there as fast as we can, I swear!" She said and hung up.

Callie and Marie watched her. "Well? Who was that?" Marie asked.

"...th-the hospital way out by Inkopolis Square. They have Sam, they called me because I was the emergency contact from another hospital." She said, getting up and rushing to the living room to pull on her jacket and grab her stuff. "We gotta go. Now."

"Right behind you!" Callie said as she jumped up to follow her with Marie in tow. They all three got into her car and Calamari tore out of the parking lot.

"They didn't say what happened to him?" Marie asked, watching Cal's face as they drove.

"N-No they didn't. I can't imagine it's good, though, not if he's in the hospital." Calamari said as she turned a sharp corner.

The drive there felt like it took too long. They all three rushed into the Emergency Room lobby and Cal went straight to the counter.

"My name's Calamari Umeno, I got a call about Samuel Osa." She said.

"Alright, give me just a second dear." The woman at the desk said, typing the name in her computer. "...oh, yes he came in this morning."

"He came in this morning? You just called her." Marie spoke up. "And it's….like six."

"I know, it took us a while to get a contact." She said. "I'm going to write down the room number for you, he's up in trauma ICU. Second floor, down the hall. Here you go." She handed her a paper, which Calamari quickly took.

"Thank you so much," She said quickly. "Will we be able to talk to a doctor when we get up there?"

"Definitely ask one of the nurses, there's usually someone on the clock." She said, giving her a small sympathetic smile. "...I hope everything is alright, dear."

"...thank you, mam." She said and turned to head for the elevators. The words 'Trauma ICU' put a knot in her stomach. What happened to him that he was in the trauma ICU?

All three of them were thinking the same thing.

They made their way down the hall to room 2322, and Calamari knocked lightly before pushing the door open. She of course tried to mentally prepare herself, but nothing can really prepare someone for seeing anyone like he was.

He had wires and tubes all over him, and quite a few machines by his head. For now, he was unconscious, but maybe that was for the best. He looked pale and sick, and beaten to hell.

"...I'm gonna go ask about the doctor." Callie said, taking a few steps back to head out the door and find a nurse so Cal and Marie could have a moment.

Calamari didn't even respond, she dropped her bag in the chair by the door and went to sit by his side in another. She reached out to take his hand in hers. "...oh my god, Sam…" She whispered.

Marie pulled a chair over to his other side, just watching him as he breathed slowly and unevenly. It was silence until Callie came back with the doctor, and an officer right besides her.

"...I suppose you're Calamari Umeno." The doctor said, and held out her hand for her. "My name's Dr. Branagh. Nice to meet you."

Calamari quickly stood and shook her hand. "...y-yeah nice to meet you too. Uh...so...what happened? How is he doing?"

It was the cops turn to speak then. "We got a call about a passed out Inkling at the dock this morning," He explained. "We thought it might be another drunk but it was just this poor guy. We're not sure what happened to him, because we didn't find much evidence and he hasn't been awake. We were hoping you would have something to help us with the investigation."

Calamari sighed. "...not much. Just that he left my place last night to go home and never made it. Spent all day looking for him. He hasn't woken up at all?"

"We're afraid there might be some brain injury, we ran some tests we're just looking at results now." Dr. Branagh explained and walked to the computer in the corner of the room. "We did have to do emergency surgery for...three stab wounds, but everything seems fine on that front."

"...so just...time will tell?" Callie asked, and the doctor nodded.

"...yes. Although, I'm sure he'll wake up soon."

Calamari nodded, and looked over at him. "...thank you very much." She said softly. "...can we stay tonight? Overnight?"

"Oh, yes that's fine. We can get you some pillows and blankets. The couch isn't super comfortable but…"

"Oh, it's fine. Thank you." She said quickly, and the doctor nodded and ducked out of the room alongside the cop who promised to be back.

"I'm going to stay overnight." Calamari said decisively. "...you guys don't have to, I can take you home or whatever."

"No! No," Marie said quickly, her eyes a little wide. "...I want to stay too." She looked at Callie, who gave her a thumbs up.

"Alright, you can have the couch, if you want." Calamari said with a nod. "I really don't mind sleeping in the chair."

"...are you sure?"

"Absolutely sure. I'd rather be able to sit here and hold his hand anyways." She said, squeezing Sam's hand.

"Alright, thank you Cal."

"Of course."

Sam didn't wake up until the next morning. Callie was dozing on the couch while Marie and Calamari sat in chairs besides Sam. Calamari watched the TV at the end of the room while Marie stayed on her phone, but they each glanced at Sam every once in a while.

Calamari was the first to notice his face twitching, and him squeezing his eyes more tightly shut. She sat up quickly, "...Sam?" She said softly.

He gave a small groan, and turned his head towards her voice as he started to finally open his eyes. The first thing he did was bring up a hand to shield them from what felt like the brightest lights he'd ever seen above him. "...oh my god…" He muttered, barely audible. His head throbbed.

It took time for his eyes to adjust so he could see who was around him. He recognized Calamari's piercing gray eyes, and felt Marie's hand in his. "...h...hey…" He finally choked out through a parched, dry throat.

"Hey, how you feeling?" Cal asked quietly, squeezing his hand tightly.

"...uh…" He trailed off. "...pretty….bad."

"I can imagine." Marie muttered. "...stabbed three times, hit your head pretty hard according to the doctor."

"...y...yeah. Sounds right." He said, closing his eyes for a moment. "M-My head's killing me."

"You want us to get the nurse?" Cal asked, and once Sam nodded she stood from her seat to grab her.

It took them a bit to get a nurse and the doctor in to look at him. They both watched her shine a light in his eyes, and make him do a few things to show how well his motor skills and sight were doing before actually looking at the wounds on his torso. One was in his side, while the other two were in his chest. They were large gashes that were stitched up, and painful looking. It made Cal just a little nauseous.

"...for whatever happened to you out there," The doctor said. "You're looking pretty good. Neurological signs seem alright, wounds are healing up. You'll probably have a few more days here just so we can keep an eye on you but...other than that I think you're going to be alright. We'll get you some pain medicine for your chest and your head, how's that sound?"

"...yeah, th-that's fine." Sam said. He was just thankful that the doctor was done messing with him. She left after that, and the Nurse got him on something for the headache, and Calamari waited for it to take effect and ease the pain before she spoke again.

"...hey, Sam?"

"...yeah….?" He asked, looking over at her.

"We need to talk." She said, sitting forwards in her chair.

Sam watched her very carefully. "...about what?"

"About what happened, at the Square." She answered, making his face fall a little.

"O-Oh...I mean…" He trailed off, looking anywhere but her or Marie as he tried to think of something.

"I really want honesty here." Calamari said in a gentle, but firm tone. "...You wanted to keep the stuff in your past private and really that's fine. I trusted that you would come to me if you needed help, and if this hadn't of happened I would have stayed in my lane but...you almost died. You scared me to death, I thought I lost you. This is...it's a matter of your safety."

Sam stared at her. She could read his expression, and it showed just fear and dread. He didn't say anything to her.

"...I guess you don't have to tell me, if you just...really refuse but I feel like it's important for you, and honestly I won't feel...alright unless I hear it...you know? I'm sorry this has to happen now but….this has to happen now. Before something happens again."

"I wouldn't even know where to start, Cal…" He said softly. "...and I'm scared you won't...believe me when I tell you or you'll try to do something about it when I don't think we can."

"No, no. If you're being 100% honest with me when you tell me….I don't see why I wouldn't believe you, and if you're being honest and you think you know what to do then...then I'll lean towards what you want to do. I just need to _know."_

Sam took a deep breath, and he stared up at the hospital ceiling. "...okay. Okay. Fine. Okay. Let me just...let me just tell you what's going on, from the beginning. I'm...Samuel. Samuel Osa, I've got...or...I _had_ two little sisters. I had Basil, and then the youngest Olive."

"...had?" Marie asked.

"I'll get to it, hang on." Sam said quickly. "Our parents aren't um...good...people. My dad drank alot and he got angry a lot and he took it out on us. A lot. My mom...I...think there's something wrong with her just at a base level and she makes it even worse with drugs and she…" He suddenly froze up. "I...sh...she…C-Cal I can't...please trust me when I tell you I just...what she did was bad and I c-can't tell you. I-I just...I don't want to say it I don't...I d-don't-"

"Okay, okay. Don't, I get the gist she did some _really_ bad stuff. I trust you." She said quickly.

He looked clearly relieved. "...o-okay. Okay thank you, s-sorry it's….okay. So sh-she was pretty bad. They didn't really...um, feed us that much so I was always going to the plaza to run games since I was old enough then and do a grizz co shift so we could eat, but Basil who was eleven she...got into a match when she shouldn't have. When she got splat, she respawned and...her memory was just gone. The refs tried to get her but she ran away and...nobody has found her since. The police got involved, and they had to come talk to my parents and…"

"...there's no way they liked that." Marie said.

"...no. My mom tried to kill me, she held me by the throat and tried to stab me and that's where I got this." He explained, pointing to his face. "I ran away, and she told me never to come back. So Basil is...gone. I live here now...Olive has been by herself, she's the only one for our parents to hurt so...o-on her birthday...th-the 21st when I left your place I tried to go get her but...got caught. Mom swore she would kill me if I came back so…"

"She tried." Calamari finished gravely. She had to stop for a long moment just to take that all in. "...alright. Okay. That's pretty bad uhhh….so...there's like...a cop who was wanting to know what happened so why don't you tell him that?"

"-what?! Oh my god, no." Sam said quickly, trying to push himself up off the bed in a panic, making Calamari reach out to push him back down by his shoulder.

"Down boy," She muttered. "...why wouldn't you? You could get Olive out of there."

"I-If they haven't killed Olive already, they'll kill her if the police are there. If I go back for her, they'll kill me, then her. If I stay out of it a-and….and I hope there's...a chance later she'll live. Olive will live, they won't kill her."

"Sam you can't do that!"

"I can! It's...It's the only way I swear. I know my parents, you said you would trust me." Sam said desperately. _"Calamari please."_

She bit her lip, staring at him. She did promise she would go with what he thought was best, and although it seemed cruel...maybe it was right. She knew Sam would probably have done anything to get her out...he almost died to do it. "...alright." She said after a long moment. "Fine. But if we get a chance...if something happens and we can help her-"

"-we'll help her." Sam said quickly. "You know I won't pass it up."

"...alright. I'm trusting you." She said, nodding a little. "...but what are we going to tell the cops?"

"To forget it. I'm not going to press charges, I don't want to pursue it." He said quickly. "...I just want to recover, and go home, and go on with life."

"...well...sounds good to me. You're probably a better liar than I am." Calamari answered with a shrug before sighing. "...thank you, Sam. For being honest. Really. It's...important to me. It really is."

He nodded, giving her a weak smile. "...I know I'm...sorry. I really should have told you sooner, I guess."

"Oh, yeah. You One Hundred percent should have." Calamari said, although she cracked a grin at him. "...love you, Sam."

He managed to smile back at her. "...yeah, love you too."

The next few days were spent almost entirely on Sam's recovery. He slept quite a bit for someone who was in the hospital, all the way up until the afternoon he was supposed to get discharged. Cal had to wake him up when the nurse came in with paperwork and told them they could leave.

"Okay…" Calamari said once the nurse left to get a wheelchair. "I went by your house and just grabbed something to change into. Just some sweatpants and a shirt." She walked over to grab it from the bag she brought with her.

"Oh, sweet. I hate this fucking gown." He said, holding his hand out for them. "...thanks Cal."

"No problem, you need help…?"

Sam kind of sighed, staring at the clothes in his hand. "...as embarrassing as this is, yeah, probably."

"Embarrassing? Sam, you're fine. You barely escaped being murdered. Plus, I've seen it all before." Cal said.

Sam's face went a little red at that. _"Cal!"_

She snickered, and held out her hand. "...come on, stand up and we'll get the gown off."

She didn't take super long to help him change. They really just had to be careful about the whole bending over thing since he had gigantic stab wounds around his side. Once he was changed, she threw the gown away and made him sit back on the bed. She flagged down the nurse for the wheelchair, and they were off.

The entire drive home, Sam kind of watched the world go by from the window. "...Hey, Cal?" He said after a moment.

"...hey, Sam?" She answered, making him roll his eyes.

"...come like...Tuesday we'll have been dating for like...half a year."

Calamari paused, furrowing her brows. "...huh, yeah I guess so. I hadn't thought about it."

"...I literally never would have expected someone I've only been dating for 6 months to care for me like this."

"...really?" Cal came to a stop at a light, and looked at him absolutely bewildered while they sat there. "Why wouldn't I?"

"I don't know I always thought you had to be further along before you like...I don't know. Went to this level of like….dedication? I guess? I think I read that in a book once."

"Oh, that's so bullshit." Cal said. "...whoever said that was wrong. I think if you're in a relationship you kind of have to be willing to care for that person that way. It's a relationship. Even if we had been dating two months now I still would have done it. Even if we were just friends, I would have still done it. That's so dumb. You're supposed to care about people. You're supposed to help people you care about, and I care about you. Deeply."

Sam stared at her as the light turned green and she pressed down on the gas, her eyes on the road. "...you know what Callie told me once?"

"...what'd Callie tell you once? This oughta be good."

"...When you guys first met, like when we went out that one night. The next morning Callie said she demanded to be in our wedding."

Calamari snorted a little when she heard that. "...she wants to be in our wedding, huh? She can be a groomsman. I bet she could pull off a tux."

"For a second I thought you were snorting at the us getting married part." Sam said with a hint of worry in his voice.

"Oh, no. Not at all…." She said, glancing at him. "...I think I could do that."

"...do what? Marry me?"

"Yeah." She said after a second. "I think so."

Sam kind of watched her, his face a little awestruck and red. "...w-well…" He said after a moment. "...maybe one day, yeah?"

"...yeah. I don't think either of us are in a good place to get married right now but...one day." She said, and turned her head to smile at him. "One day."


	14. Bread vs Rice

The two weeks after Sam's almost death when he had to stay at home and resting were the hardest on him. He wasn't the kind of person who took bedrest well. He just wanted to be moving and working and...not thinking. He was constantly on his laptop trying to answer emails and make calls. He was just trying to make sure everything was still going smoothly for Callie and Marie.

The morning he was finally allowed to go back to work he was practically ecstatic. When he woke up, he rolled over to gently kiss Calamari on the forehead before getting out of bed. He got dressed, and went to the kitchen to make coffee, even if he didn't necessarily need it. It just felt like the routine he so dearly missed.

He was sipping from his mug and eating a granola bar when Calamari shuffled her way into the room looking sleepy. "...morning." She whispered.

"Good Morning, how are you?" He asked her, and she just kind of shrugged and got some coffee for herself.

"...right. Seems like a pretty good morning."

She gave him a sleepy smile and looked over at him. "...yeah I'm okay. We finally go back to practice today."

"And I finally go back to work!" Sam followed, his face lighting up.

"You sure are happy about that, aren't you?" She asked him, leaning on the counter.

"Yes! I feel better, I feel fine. I'm just ready to get back to work. I have something to propose to Zach." He explained. "It's...kind of dumb I think but...I don't know, maybe it'll work!"

"What is it, exactly?" Cal asked curiously.

"...okay, okay. So...it's kind of for all the kids we're catering too. Or all the game enthusiasts I guess. So...what if we like...had a day, just a whole day in celebration of it. Where we like present two things like...what, Christmas is coming up right? Ham or Turkey. Or we do...Red or Green. So there's two teams, and everyone picks a side. Then we can rig up the battle lobby to put people on the same team together against people on the other team and see who comes out on top! Who wins!" Sam explained quickly, and paused as he watched Calamari's face. "...is it stupid?"

Cal hummed. "...no, not really. If you're trying to get more people to watch the news, see Callie and Marie...really it's kind of genius."

"So you think Zach will like it?" Sam asked hopefully.

"I mean yeah, probably." She said, glancing at the clock. "...shouldn't you get going?"

Sam looked up at the clock too and his eyes widened. "-oh! You're right! O-Okay let me put my tentacles up and shoes and stuff!" He said quickly and rushed out of the kitchen, almost spilling coffee on his shirt.

He rushed through his morning routine just to get out the door and on his way to work. When he came in the door and saw Katie at the receptionist desk he broke into a smile. "Hey Katie!"

She looked up from whatever she was doing at the desk, and gasped a little when she saw him. "Hey Sam! How are you feeling?"

"Much better! I'm doing a lot better. I don't even have any pain anymore so...hey, I'm doing pretty good." He said, walking over to the counter to lean over it slightly. "Has everything been alright?"

She shoved a little sketchbook aside and put a pencil down on top, just barely obscuring a few drawn figures. "Yeah it's been alright. I think all the assistant managers have been helping out and Callie and Marie are alright. Zach's missed you, you really should go say hi. He'll be ecstatic to see you."

"Oh right! I have to talk to him anyways." He said and stood up straight. "I should head up there, I'll see you around Katie!"

"See ya!" She answered and waved as he walked to the elevator and took it up.

He walked down the hall to Zach's office and knocked, listening for Zach's usual "Come in!". Once he heard it, he opened the door and stepped inside. "Hey Zach!" He said.

The older inkling's face lit up just like Katie's, and he stood up from his desk. "Sammy you're really back!" He cried, giving him one of those weird handshake semi-hugs that I've only ever seen high school boys do, you know what I'm talking about.

"Yeah, I'm really back. You sound happy about that." Sam said with a laugh.

"Of course I am! I missed you! Plus, it's good to have my best manager back!" He said, sitting back down at his desk and motioning for Sam to sit across from him. "Marie said you were...pretty bad."

"Ah...yeah, it was kind of rough." He admitted. "But, I'm all better now sooo…" He trailed off, hoping Zach would take the hint.

Thankfully, he did. "Alright, alright. I'm just glad you're better, I was pretty worried."

"Aw...thanks. I...guess? Do you thank people for that?" Sam asked, tilting his head a little. "...whatever, anyways. I actually have to uh...propose something to you that I thought of when I was recovering."

"Oh? What've you got?" Zach asked, sitting forwards in his chair.

"So...I had this idea…" He started to explain what he'd explained to Calamari this morning. He watched Zach's face very carefully the entire time, afraid Zach wouldn't like it. However, just like Cal had said, he loved it.

"That sounds awesome! We should definitely do a trial run if we want to do it. When do you think we could do the first one?" He asked.

"Well...we should get the designers to do like a graphic for it, I'll write a little...script or something for Callie and Marie...probably here in a few days. Then we can give people a week to get the news...choose their team aaanndd….make it next weekend, maybe?" Sam suggested.

"That's good! I feel like we should do something else though...what else can we push….? You said it's like a celebration, right?" Zach asked, scratching his chin as he thought.

"We could get Callie and Marie to do something. Like a live performance?" Sam suggested.

"...yes! That would be great! Live music! But...what if we step it up? Just one more step?" Zach started, and leaned forwards. "24 hours."

"W-Woah. 24 hours? That's 24 hours for Callie and Marie and also for me." Sam said.

"You could handle it, right?" Zach said quickly. "We can take breaks throughout the night, you know. Do other acts...but Callie and Marie would be the main ones."

"Okay, I think we could manage it but the most important opinoin in this is Callie and Marie's, because they'd have to pull the all nighter." He said, trying to make his voice a little firmer. He wasn't going to push them too far.

"...alright, alright. Go ahead and ask them, we'll work out the hours and stuff later. Just get the designers on all the ads, and set up some stuff for Callie and Marie. Alright?"

"Sounds perfect. Thanks so much Zach, I'm really, really glad you liked it! I was kind of worried." Sam said with a small laugh and got up from his seat.

"Oh, never worry about that stuff." He said. "...I'm always all ears about ideas. Even if it's not the best….we can always workshop it."

"...right. Alright, thanks Zach." He said again, and walked out the door. He took a deep breath. Now he just had to convince Callie and Marie to do 24 hours of live music. With that on his mind, he started down the hall to his office to dump his stuff, and then head for the studio.

Callie and Marie were sitting around on the set waiting for the show to start when he walked in. Callie broke into a grin, and Marie's face lit up. She stood up and rushed over to hug him. "Hey, Sam!" She said.

"Hey Marie," He answered, hugging her tightly. "Good to see you!"

"Good to see you too. Are you feeling better?"

"Yeeepp. Much better." He said, holding an arm out to hug Callie too before pulling away. "...I gotta talk to you guys about something before we start...we've got five minutes, right?"

"Four minutes, go." Marie answered.

"Right, okay. So you guys like doing concerts….right?" He asked, and watched them nod. "So how would you feel about doing a _really_ long one?"

Marie narrowed her eyes. "...exactly how long?"

"Liiiike….24 hours." Sam said carefully, glancing at her and Callie's face.

"Alright, no on that." Marie said quickly.

"That's what I thought. Zach and I have an idea about a big event we're gonna do in a week. I really want you guys to do a concert, he wanted you guys to do 24 hours. Maybe 12 hours? Maybe like an overnight thing?"

"Okay 12 hours is a little more reasonable." Marie said, looking at Callie to make sure she was okay with that.

"Okay, awesome! We're going to announce it maybe...tomorrow. I'll give you guys more information as soon as I can!" Sam said, looking excited. "I've got to make like 20 calls and probably have a meeting with the designers about this so I'm gonna be in my office, are you guys good to do the first show yourselves?"

"We've been doing shows by ourselves for the past like 2 weeks while you were trying not to die, so I think we're good." Marie said with a smirk.

"...you're right." Sam answered with a small laugh. "...I guess you're alright without me. Alright, I'll be back in my office. Good luck!"

Callie, Marie, and Sam settled with Zach on an overnight performance. Sam immediately got designers to work on a graphic for the first 'splatfest' as Callie started to call it: Bread vs. Rice. They announced it a few days after Sam had proposed the idea, and about a week later Sam was running around helping get everything set up. He made sure the assistants were doing what they needed to do, and that everything on the new stage was set up.

"Okay," He said as he came into the back room behind the stage, rapidly clicking a pen. "Are you guys totally ready?" He asked.

"I think so, I took an extra long nap today." Callie said with a shrug.

"I really hope it was long enough." Sam sighed, and rubbed his face. "...I didn't even get a nap."

"...damn. Well at least you're not singing." Marie muttered. "Or dancing."

"True. You guys will get a few breaks though. I think we're going to have some other acts come on, just you guys are the big ones, and really by the end of the night not as many people will be out...I….hope."

"Yeah, we hope." Marie snorted. "Okay, our first song is City of Color right?"

"Right!" Sam said, and glanced at his watch. "...and you guys are almost ready to go. You should probably go ahead and get in place."

"Aye aye cap'n!" Callie said as she jumped up, heading for the entrance. Marie lagged behind just to hug Sam, for good luck.

When it was time, the sisters walked out onto the platform and a surprisingly large crowd of inklings cheered for them. From the very back, in the shadows, Sam watched the crowd. He spotted a familiar inkling with a gray top knot bun and matching piercing gray eyes in the crowd, and he couldn't help but grin. He knew she didn't see him, but he kind of waved at her anyways.

He kept his eyes on Marie too. Every time he had to manage a show he found himself watching her, awestruck. Every time she gave the crowd that half-grin he felt like his heart was melting, and there were butterflies in his stomach. You know, all that romantic shit.

The splatfest went exceptionally well. There were a few hiccups with the battle lobby, and at least one hiccup with performances but overall it was a hit. Sam found himself sitting on the edge of the stage with Callie and Marie as the sun came up and the last few inklings went to shuffle home.

"I don't know about you guys, but it's time to crash on the couch in the back room." Callie said as she pulled herself up and shuffled off stage. "Bye y'all I'm out I'm dead."

"...bye Callie." Sam muttered. He was left with Marie watching the sun come up. She sleepily leaned her head against his shoulder.

"...you like watching sunrises?" She asked quietly.

He leaned her head against hers for a moment, sighing. "...yeah, I do, actually. You?"

She hummed a little. "...I'm usually not a morning person, but since I'm with you I'll make an exception."

He laughed a little, and reached over just to wrap an arm around her. "I appreciate it, I really do."

"I'm glad," She answered, sighing a little when she felt his arm around her.

"...you guys did great, by the way…" He muttered after a moment. "Everything was a huge hit."

"Hey, you did all the background work that made it successful."

"Right, but your beautiful face was what people came for, let's be real."

She pulled away to look up at him, narrowing her eyes. . "...are you trying to flirt with me?"

"I mean…" Sam trailed off, his arm falling back to his side. "...yeah. Maybe so."

"Sam you've got a girlfriend, shame on you." She said and shook her head at him. "...we probably shouldn't be up here you know...watching the sunrise and stuff, snuggling, and flirting all the damn time."

"Awww...Marie." Sam muttered, smirking a little.

"Uh, don't 'awwww marie' me." Marie snapped. "...I'm serious. Why are we doing this all the time? Flirting and...holding hands and hugging and we were literally snuggling just now. Aren't you happy with Calamari?"

The little smirk fell off Sam's face when he realized she was actually serious. "...oh...god of course I'm happy with Calamari. I'm more than happy with Calamari! It's just uuhhh…" He paused. "...I like you too. Calamari and I actually like...talked about this back when me and you first met."

Marie paused and frowned a little. "...you did?"

"Yeah, I liked you alot like...immediately. I felt bad about it so I talked to Calamari about it because...you know, honesty and shit. You know what she said?"

"...what?"

"She told me to ask you out. We kind of decided that if I had another girlfriend she wouldn't mind...you know, poly? As long as you're okay with it…" He said shrugging.

"As long as I'M okay with it? Are you asking me out?"

Sam's face went a little red. "...y-yeah. I-I'm asking you out."

Marie was kind of quiet. She tapped the stage with her fingers as she thought, making Sam _very_ nervous. Finally, she looked up. "...yes."

"...yes?" Sam repeated, his face lighting up.

Marie kind of laughed, and maybe for once in her life she blushed. "...yes. I said yes."

"Yes!" He nearly shouted, pumping a fist in the air.

Marie just laughed and reached up to take it. "...don't get too excited there Sam."

"How can I not be excited? I've liked you for so long…"

"Yeah, I know. I could tell." She muttered, squeezing his hand before scooting back closer to him to go back to putting her head on his shoulder, and his arm around her waist. This time, he leaned down to kiss her head a little.

He felt happier than he had in awhile.

What's up guys? This chapter is a bit shorter because School and work and *Screaming*. It's a little awkward too, but there's gonna be a few of those along the way. So, you know.

As always, thank you SO much for reading! 3


	15. Arm, Eye, Leg

The next few months went along quietly. They started having a splatfest at least once a month after the very first successful one, and Sam always seemed to be busy with that. Between managing Callie and Marie at the height of their popularity, spending time with Calamari and Marie, and running the splatfests Sam felt like he didn't have any time on his hands but...he was enjoying it. The more he was doing, the less he was thinking about his parents or his sisters.

Calamari was busy too. Internationals were coming up fast and she, Shrimp, Sal and Pepper trained hours every day. When the international championships got closer Sam felt like he never got to see her just because she was always practicing.

The team finally let themselves have a break just a few days before the games. Sam hurried through the rain up to her door and pushed it open. "Cal?" He called as he stepped inside, shedding a wet jacket and placing it up on a hook next to the door.

Calamari poked her head out of the kitchen. "...oh, hey Sam!" She said, giving him a tired smile. "You're a sight for sore eyes."

"I know, you are too." He said as he walked over to kiss her hello, and give her a hug. "I feel like I haven't seen you in forever…"

"Yeah…" She sighed, wrapping her arms around him. "Pepper has us practicing non stop. I swear to god if we don't win this I'm gonna be so mad."

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure you will. I was right the past two times I said that sooo…." Sam trailed off with a grin, making Cal laugh.

"You're right, keep saying that. Hopefully it'll come true."

He nodded, and pulled away from her to lean on the counter. "...soo...what's the plan? When are you guys leaving?"

"We're gonna leave super early tomorrow, catch the plane out to where it is. Spend a day there resting up like we did with nationals aaaaand...then they start the day after." She explained, before sighing. "I'm not saying this to make you feel bad, I just really do wish you could be there."

"Ahhh...I know." Sam said as his shoulders slumped. "I promise I'll be watching every game! All the way up to the end, when you win!"

Cal got a smile on her face, and she leaned down to kiss his forehead. "...thank you, Sam. You mean the world to me, you know that?"

He smiled, blushing a little. "...you mean the world to me too, Cal." He whispered back.

After a moment, she pulled away. "Alright, hey I'm almost done with dinner, you want some?"

"Uh, yes please I'm starving." Sam said quickly, letting her go so she could finish it up.

They ate dinner together, and Sam decided to stay the night with her before she had to leave. He got up with her early in the morning with her just to help her get everything out to the car when Pepper, Shrimp and Sal arrived to pick her up. He gave her a kiss goodbye, and went to talk to the others as well.

He gave Shrimp and Sal a tight hug, and asked if their parents would be coming to the game. He frowned slightly when Shrimp shrugged and said no, they were too busy somewhere else with business. He just told them he'd be watching every bit of it, and rooting for them even if their parents weren't.

He talked to Pepper too, giving him a quick hug just to wish him luck before he saw them off. Now he just had to anxiously wait for the games to start.

His weekend was full. Callie and Marie had concerts both Friday and Saturday night. He spent all day trying to get as much done as possible so he could stop and watch each game on his phone or his laptop. He was sitting in the tiny back break room late Saturday night before the concert on his phone, headphones on. His face was inches from the screen, eyes wide. He didn't even notice Marie sit besides him until she heard her voice.

He jumped and quickly looked up. "H-Huh? O-Oh sorry Marie, game's on. Is something wrong?" He asked, eyes going back to the screen.

"Nah nothing's wrong, just came to see you before the show." She said, sitting back a bit so she could look over his shoulder at the game. They were watching from an aerial view camera where they could see everything. Sam always kept his eyes on Calamari.

"So what game is this?" Marie asked, resting her chin on his shoulder as they both watched.

"Semi-finals, so if they can get this one they'll be in the final game tomorrow." He said as he watched the timer countdown the last minute. "They've had really close matches the whole weekend…" He muttered.

The two watched as the minute went by, and soon everyone came to a stand still as the horn to end the match sounded. The view switched to a map, showing green and purple ink covering the arena. The announcer took a second to listen to the referees before he announced, "It looks like Surf N' Turf is heading to finals tomorrow folks!"

Sam jumped up from his seat with a gigantic grin on his face. He pumped a fist in the air as he jumped "YES!" He yelled, "Yes yes yes! They're in the finals Marie oh my god!"

She rubbed her chin which got hit when Sam jumped up, but smiled one the less. "That's awesome! What time is the match tomorrow?" She asked.

"I-I think it's scheduled for like...2?" Sam answered, watching as a camera zoomed in on Calamari's happy face. Since nationals, she'd become somewhat of a star. Anyone keeping up with the games knew Calamari Umeno.

"Me, you and Callie can watch it together." She said. "Come by my house tomorrow."

"Oh yesss. I'll bring some food and stuff. Like a watch party!" Sam said quickly. The stream switched to just be commentators which he cared zero about and just locked his phone and shoved it into his pocket. "...okay, how long until the show?'

"We have...about 5 minutes." She said, glancing up at the clock.

"Oh, oh damn. Get out there and get ready, I'm sure Callie is waiting on you." Sam said quickly. He hurried over to her just to give her a kiss before she went out, as had become habit for the two of them. "...good luck. I'll be back here, as always."

"Right, thanks Sam." She said softly and hurried out the door, leaving just Sam there.

He of course moved out to watch Marie and Callie do their show, and he watched Marie with the same smile he always had. He only pulled himself away to pick up a call from Calamari.

He looked down at his phone and grinned when he saw her face. "Cal!" He said quickly, hurrying out back to get away from the noise of the concert waving at one of the stage hands to let them know where he was. "You're in finals!" He said as he stepped out into the cold night air.

"I know! Isn't it nuts?!" She asked with a happy laugh. "We literally might be international champions. World. Champions."

"Might be? Come on, you're gonna be the world champs." Sam said quickly. " You know it, I know it. We all know it."

She laughed a little. "I want to be. The guys were going up against, Pizza Party is their name, they're...pretty tough. Pepper keeps saying he's got a bad feeling about them, like they're cheating or something but...I'm sure if they were they would've caught them by internationals."

"I mean yeah, I'd hope so." Sam said as he sat down against the wall. "I'm sure it's fine. Pepper seems like he can be a little paranoid."

"Well, yeah. I don't blame him though." Calamari said with a shrug.

"Hmmm…" Sam trailed off a little. "...so are you guys gonna go celebrate or anything?"

"Nah...I think we're just gonna go back to the hotel and pass out. Maybe we'll watch a movie. No celebration drinking yet." She smirked.

"...how about no celebration drinking at all?" Sam muttered, before he sighed. "Sorry...just be careful."

"Of course, Sam. Sorry I shouldn't have said that." Calamari muttered, before glancing back. "...aw I gotta go. I'll talk to you tomorrow before the game though!"

"Right! Call me! I'll be at Callie and Marie's to watch it!" He said, "Get some rest!"

"Of course, I'll see ya Sam. Love you." She answered with a smile.

"...love you too Cal, bye." He reached out to hang up, and pulled his headphones out of his ears with a sigh. He was so anxious to see what tomorrow would bring.

Sam wasn't the only one anxious to see what tomorrow would bring. Calamari woke up with her heart beating fast and her stomach in knots. She wasn't one to get nervous about this stuff, but this was the world championships.

They had to win this.

She and the team got up to get something light to eat for breakfast to settle their stomachs, and spent just a few hours doing some training. Before they knew it, they were in the locker room getting ready for the final match.

"...all your weapons are good, right?" Calamari asked the others as she looked over her own Aerospray and placed it on the bench. "No last minute repairs?"

"Nope!" Sal answered, "I'm all good. Shrimp's good….Pepper?"

Cal looked over at him to him give her a thumbs up as he sat his roller down in the corner. He reached his hands up to stretch a bit before he turned towards the others. "Okay...we've got just a few more hours before the game starts. I'm starving, there's some good food trucks outside, do you guys want to go get something?"

"Aw hell yeah!" Shrimp said quickly as he jumped up from his seat followed by Sal.

"Alright, hang on. Cal you wanna go?" Pepper asked, turning to look at Cal.

"...nah, I hate eating before games." She answered and reached over to grab her phone from her bag. "I'm gonna stay here and call Sam, actually."

"Eeewwww, gonna call your boyfriend?" Shrimp teased, sticking his tongue out at her.

"That's so gross Cal!" Sal said quickly just to copy her brother.

Pepper rolled his eyes, and went to usher them both out of the locker room. "...we'll be back soon, promise. Tell Sam I said hey." He said.

Calamari nodded, waving as they left and sat back against the locker room wall. She plugged in some headphones and went to call Sam. As the phone rang, she heard the locker room door open. Quickly she disconnected the call, and looked up at whichever twin left their stuff in the room.

"-what, did you leave your wall-" She stopped when she realized it wasn't Shrimp or Sal, or even Pepper. She was faced with three inklings with obscured faces she didn't know. For a split second she thought maybe they were lost, but the masks on their faces and the weapons in each hand told her they knew exactly where they were.

She jumped up from the bench and reached out to grab the aerospray she'd left on the other end of the bench, but the other inklings were faster. She yelped as one grabbed her by the back of the shirt and pulled her down to the ground so fast her head smacked the concrete floor with a loud crack.

It was enough to leave her dazed, and unable to fight them as they dragged her away from the bench. One inkling placed one heavy boot on her right shoulder, and another on her wrist forcing her arm out straight.

"-arm and eye, right?" They asked quietly, holding their hand out for something.

"Arm and eye, leg if we can." Another answered as they pulled a bat from the bag they carried on their back. "Make it quick."

Calamari looked up at the inkling above her with a dazed look as they raised the bat over their head, and brought it down on her arm. She jerked up and cried out as pain ripped through her arm and into her shoulder and chest. Just as soon as it had dulled, they brought the bat down again. And again. And again, until she couldn't feel it anymore.

Calamari squeezed her eyes shut, and as soon as the inkling took their feet off her shoulder and wrist she tried to open her eyes and sit up but only found her world spinning.

"...aw come on, just lay down." One of them said, pushing her flat on her back again. Her sight was just swimming still so she tried to close her eyes but it seemed the inkling had another idea.

She felt them grab the side of her face, and use their fingers to pry her right eye open. "Knife me, please." One said, and another pulled a small but sharp knife from the bag they got the bat and handed it to them.

When she felt the cold tip of the knife against the corner of her eye, she tried to scream in horror, but they slapped a hand over her mouth. Then, there was just white hot pain as they plunged it into the corner of her eye, and started to gouge it out.

Within seconds she felt something snap as they yanked her eye out of its socket.

"Man that's fucking gross." The one with the knife muttered, quickly dropping the eye with a small, fake gagging noise.

"Yeah, tell me about it. Think we got time for the leg?" Another asked.

"Yeah, get the bat."

Calamari was in total shock. She didn't respond at all when they put a boot down at her hip and ankle and started in with the bat. However, they didn't get too many hits in before they stopped.

"-wait. There's footsteps." One of them said.

"Shit, back door!" The one with the bat said, and suddenly they were grabbing their things and running out the door in the back leaving Calamari on the locker room floor to curl up in pain and clutch her face with her only good hand.

A few moments later, the door opened. Shrimp walked in holding his phone in one hand and a bag of food in the other. "Hey Cal, we're back!" He said as he turned the corner.

"You done talking to your boy-" Sal started, but she stopped short when she turned the corner with her twin only to see Calamari on the floor. "-o-oh my god-" She whispered, and turned to run back around the corner and yell for Pepper.

When Pepper heard the panic in her voice, he hurried into the room himself and anything that was in his hand hit the floor when he dropped it. He rushed to her side and fell to his knees besides her. "C-Calamari!" He said quickly. He reached out to grab her wrist, and pry it from her face just to make sure she still had a pulse - she hadn't moved since they came in.

When he pulled her hand away, he saw the gaping hole where her eye should have been and he yanked his hand away in shock. He spotted her eyeball sitting on the ground nearby, and her practically mush arm and it took everything he had not to puke right then and there.

He watched her curl up tighter on herself, placing her hand back over her eye as she closed the other. Everything was still spinning, and it hurt so bad, she just wanted to pass out _please._

Pepper turned to look at the twins, "-Sal, Shrimp one of you go get an official we have to forfeit or cancel." He said quickly.

When Cal heard him say that, her eye snapped open and she hurried to push herself up with her good arm. "-n-no!" She said quickly.

"No?! What the hell do you mean no?!" Shrimp asked, looking at her with horror and confusion as Sal hurried to the nearest trash can.

"I mean _n-no_." Cal said as firmly as she could. "H-How long until the game?"

"A-An hour and a half." Pepper answered, frowning at her. "You're not playing, we're canceling or forfeiting."

"L-Like hell we are." Cal spat. "-I-I have an hour and a half to rest. I-I'll play."

"Calamari you're insane! Y-You couldn't even hold a weapon!" Shrimp said quickly. "Even if we played we couldn't win!"

"I can still use it." She said, bringing the arm up a little to place it in her lap. "I'll try to swim through the ink more than walk to deal with my leg. I-I'm not going to l-let us lose this because they're tr-trying to throw the match."

"Oh my god, Pepper we're not playing are we?" Shrimp asked, looking at him with wide eyes. "You're team captain! You can call this off!"

Pepper looked at her, and she reached out to grab his shirt with her good arm. "...Pepper I will play and we will win and you'll only take that from me if you pry it from my cold dead hands I swear. To .God." She hissed.

He reached up to pry her hands from his shirt, and his shoulders slumped. "...if you feel that strongly about it…"

"I-I do."

"...then fine, we'll play like normal."

Shrimp looked at Pepper with wide, horrified eyes. "-Pepper you are fucking kidding me!" He cried.

"I am not. Go make sure Sal is okay, and bring her in here if you can. We need to redo our plans to deal with this." Pepper said firmly and reached out to help Calamari get up on a bench to lay down and rest until it was time for the game.

Pepper watched Calamari very closely the entire hour and a half as she rested and the entire time they got ready for the match. He helped her up to the platform where they were supposed to be when the game started. He stood right besides her, holding her good arm tightly to keep her balanced as they appeared on their end of the arena.

At first, everyone was cheering. Shrimp reached up to wave at everyone sitting on their side with a big grin with hopes that no one would notice how fucked up Calamari looked.

However, there was an audible gasp and murmurs as everyone started to notice her state. Cameras were suddenly trained on her, and a few referees made their way into the arena to see what had happened.

"What's going on here? What happened?" An inkling woman said as she landed besides Calamari. She looked at her arm and eye (or lack thereof) and gasped herself.

Calamari took a deep breath, and Pepper tightened his grip on her arm to keep her steady. "There was an accident. I'm still playing."

"Ma'am, we can't let you play in this condition, you need to go to a hospital." The ref said quickly. "You have to forfeit."

"We're not going to forfeit." Pepper spoke up. "I'm team captain, we already made the decision not to forfeit this match, we're going to play despite the...circumstances."

The ref looked at Calamari with clear confliction on her face. She turned towards one of the others, and motioned for him to come down so she could ask him.

Cal was just as firm with him, and Pepper backed her up. Just like Pepper had done, they both sighed and decided that if she really wanted to, they'd allow her to play, no matter how useless it was. It was clear to them who was going to come out of this the winner.

The refs went back to their posts, and the game went on. As the large screen above their heads showing the map counted down to zero Pepper watched Cal's face. He knew she was in pain, but she had a look of determination that showed she was going to get through this. Finally the horn blared to start off the game. Sal picked up her charger, taking the first shot leaving a straight line of ink for Calamari to use for swimming. "GO CAL!" She yelled, before taking off running herself.

Calamari nodded, and as Pepper let go of her arm she dove into the ink to swim. Switching forms was painful. Running was painful. The only relief she got was if she was splatted and managed to get a few moments of peace as she respawned. She fought hard and did as much as she could for her team, praying to whatever squid gods there were to give them this victory.

The clock came to zero above them, and the horn blared to end the match. Everyone came to a stand still, and looked up to the screen. Everyone on the other team had a shit eating grin on their faces, confident they'd won this until the map was shown.

Calamari grinned as she saw their green ink overwhelming the other team's pink. Her world started to blur up and swim again, and she felt herself falling flat on her back from exhaustion and pain as the adrenaline wore off. Everything started to sound fuzzy, and her world was dimming. She looked above her as referees and her own teammates looked down on her, frantically asking if she was okay and telling the others to call for help.

The last thing she heard though before she lost consciousness was Surf n' Turf being announced as the world champions


	16. Death Warmed Over

"Come on, Pepper." Sam groaned as he watched his phone. He'd called him at least five times since he watched Calamari pass out on TV, but he couldn't get ahold of him. He had no idea what was going on, and he felt sick with worry.

"Sam, he's probably dealing with whatever they're doing with Calamari." Marie said quietly. "He'll call you when he gets a chance, I'm sure."

"I know I know I know. I'm just...fuck, what happened to her? Why was she so...hurt?" Sam said, reaching up to rub his temples.

Marie stood up from her seat, and gently took his hand from his head. "...come sit down, Sam." She said quietly, pulling him to the couch to sit besides her.

He sighed, and willingly followed her so he could sit besides her. He leaned over to bury his face against her shoulder, squeezing his eyes shut. He couldn't make himself calm down, he couldn't stop thinking about what could have happened to her.

Finally, his phone started to buzz. He pulled away from Marie to grab it, and slid his finger over the screen to answer. "-P-Pepper?"

"Sam, oh my god I'm sorry I couldn't call you right away." Pepper said. "I-I was trying to deal with getting Calamari to the hospital and a-all that stuff."

"It's fine, it's fine. Wh-What _happened_?" Sam asked, sitting on the edge of the couch.

"Shrimp, Sal and I left to grab something to eat and she stayed to call you, but someone came in and attacked her while we were gone. I think they were trying to throw the game." He said. "...but now were at the hospital they're...trying to make some decisions."

"...decisions?" Sam asked, frowning. "What decisions? Who's making decisions?" He asked. He hurried from his seat and went to grab his keys from by Callie and Marie's door along with his jacket.

"Calamari's cousin was at the game, she's here. She's the closest blood relative they've got so she's the one calling the shots. They're trying to decide if they should try to save her arm…" Pepper said carefully.

"...try to save-" Sam stopped, closing his eyes for a second. "Where is she? The cousin? Let me talk to her."

"I-I mean..you can talk to her." Pepper said with a hint of worry. "I promise she seems like she's got a good head on her shoulders I-"

"I don't really care, I don't know know her and I'm still kind of worried just, let me talk to her please." Sam said quickly.

Pepper sighed, and finally agreed to let him talk to her. He told him to hang on, and for a moment there was just muttering in the background. He glanced back at Callie and Marie, "I'm going to catch a plane over there," He said to them quietly. "I gotta get a bag together."

"I'll go with you." Marie said quickly, standing up. "Let me grab some stuff and we'll go to your place."

Sam just nodded, and waited by the door. After a moment, he heard an unfamiliar voice on the phone. "-hello?"

"Hey." He said quickly. "My name's Sam, I'm Calamari's boyfriend. I know y-you're like….her cousin you're the person who gets to make all the decisions I um…"

"You don't know me and you're worried about what kind of decisions I'm gonna make." She finished for him.

Sam kind of faltered. "...y...yeah."

"Yeah, I get it. That's fine." She said. "I'll just put you on speakerphone we'll talk to the doctor together. How about that? Takes a bit of pressure off of me."

"God please that would be great." He said, glancing around the corner to see Marie coming to the door.

"Alright hang on like two seconds, he's supposed to be here any second." She said, and he just nodded. While he waited they left the house and went out to the car. As they drove back towards his house, he heard Calamari's cousin speak again.

"-okay, the doctor's here. I'm putting you on speaker." She said, and after a moment he heard her voice more distant. "Cool, there we are. Hey," She said to the doctor. "...I've got Calamari's boyfriend on the phone too, Sam."

"Ah, alright." He heard the doctor reply. "...Sam aand…"

"Pearl," Cal's cousin spoke up, telling him her name. "Now what's up with Calamari?"

"Okay. So the leg will need surgery to fix, but we can save it. Her eye is long gone...it's the arm. We can try to save it, but I'm not entirely sure it will work or be worth the effort if we have to amputate anyways."

He heard Pearl sigh on the other end of the line, and he kind frowned. "...if we try to save it, what will happen? If it doesn't work?" Sam asked.

"More than likely it will just get gangrene and we'll have to perform a second surgery to amputate. It's absolutely crushed, the blood vessels are wrecked. We might have been able to save it if she just...didn't use it to fight." The doctor answered.

"So we're better off just...amputating." Pearl said finally.

"In my opinion yes. The sooner, the better." The doctor explained.

There was a long pause before Pearl asked. "...well, Sam? What do you think?"

Sam bit his lip. "...if we amputate...it'll ruin her career for sure but…"

"Tch, it's already ruined anyways." Pearl admitted.

"...right. I...I think you should amputate." Sam said after a long time, glancing over at Marie who just gave him a sympathetic look.

"...I honestly agree." Pearl said, and the doctor just nodded.

"...alright. We'll do that." He said. "We'll get her into surgery as soon as we can."

"...how long will it be? The surgery? I'm flying out there, I want to be there when she wakes up." Sam said quickly as he pulled up to his house.

"It's going to be more than a few hours." He said, "How far out are you?"

"If I can catch a flight out, I'll be maybe 2 hours."

"I think you'll be here in time as long as you catch one pretty soon." He said.

"...alright, thank you doc." Pearl said, and as the doctor left she picked up the phone again. "I guess I'll see you here in a few hours. We're at the St. Woomy hospital, in the ER lobby."

"Gotcha. I'll be there as soon as I can. Thank you so much Pearl,"

"It's no problem." She answered. "See ya."

The line went dead, and Sam slowly took the phone away from his ear. He stared at the steering wheel for a few moments with a look of shock, until Marie reached out to take his hand and squeeze it tightly. "...come on, we better hurry if you want to catch a flight." She said.

"...right."

The entire flight there Sam was just...nervous and full of dread. If he could, he stayed as close to Marie as he could. He often sat with his head against her shoulder, listening to her hum a quiet song to comfort him, holding his hand.

When they landed, they were heading towards the hospital as soon as they could get a taxi there. The man brought them around to the ER entrance, and Marie paid him before they got out and headed for the glass double doors. He saw Pepper sitting with Sal and Shrimp, across from a _very_ short inkling girl with short, curled white tentacles tinted pink on the end and a tall inkling with...quite a strange hairstyle. He hurried over to them, "-H-Hey!" He said quickly. "Any news?"

"Nothing yet, we've got just a bit more to go." The short girl answered. He assumed from Calamari's stories about her height, this was her cousin.

"...r-right. I'm glad I made it here on time." Sam said as he walked over to sit besides Shrimp and Sal, dumping his stuff on the floor next to his feet. He glanced up at the short girl. "...P-Pearl, right?"

"Yep, that's me." She said, waving a little. "This is my girlfriend Marina, by the way."

Sam nodded to her. "Nice to meet you, Marina." He said quietly.

"You too," She replied softly. Boy, her accent was thick, but he wasn't sure where it was from.

They all waited quietly. Sam did his best to comfort Sal, who was quite upset. He felt better trying to help someone else.

Pearl seemed to be constantly texting with someone - he assumed Calamari's family, and if she wasnt' texting she was holding Marina's hand. She seemed so utterly worried for her cousin. Sam kind of felt bad he ever doubted her.

When the doctor came in to speak with them, Sam got up the quickest. He glanced at Pearl and him, "...are you Sam?" He guessed.

"Y-Yes, that's me." Sam said quickly.

"I suppose you got lucky with the planes." He said with a small smile, before he cleared his throat. "Well, Miss Umeno is out of surgery and she's doing alright. She'll wake up pretty soon, and we'll give her an hour before we move her up to a room."

Sam nodded, before quickly asking. "C-Can I please go see her? Be there when she wakes up?" He asked.

The doctor kind of tilted his head back and forth as he thought about. "...ahh...yes I'll let you go on back."

He looked relieved. "Thank you so much," He said, he glanced back at Marie. "...do you mind watching my stuff?"

"Not at all, go see Cal." She said softly, motioning for him to go.

Sam nodded, and he hurried after the doctor as he brought him to recovery. She was in the back surrounded by curtains, with a nurse standing just outside. She opened the curtain so he could slip inside.

The best way Sam thought he could describe her was 'death warmed over'. She was so much paler than normal, and even in her sleep she had a pained look on her face. The right side of her face was covered by bandages, and her right arm was...just gone. He was also quick to notice how her hair hung loosely around her face instead of being up like she wanted.

He quietly walked over to her left side, and reached up to take the band keeping his hair up out and very gently lifted her head so he could get hers up. As soon as it was in it's normal topknot he sighed with relief, and sat down in a chair to take her hand tightly.

It didn't take her long to wake up after that. Sam watched her remaining eye open, and squint at the bright lights above them. It was as if for a while, she was looking around just trying to figure out where she was. Finally, her eye landed on him and she watched him before she muttered his name.

He smiled as much as he could, "...hey Cal," He said quietly. "How you feeling?"

"M-My arm hurts." She muttered. "So does my head, and my leg."

"...y...yeah. I can imagine." He said softly. "I'm sure they're giving you lots of pain meds…"

"God they better, after what happened." She muttered. She tried to reach up her right hand to press it against her head but she couldn't move it at all. She glanced down at where it should have been, and stopped. "...Sam."

Sam took a deep breath, bracing himself. "Y-Yeah…?"

"Where's my arm?"

"T-They had to amputate it, Cal…." He whispered. "It was too far gone. They couldn't save it."

Calamari didn't respond. She stared at the spot on the bed where her arm should have been and she felt her blood run cold.

...everything. Her entire career, her time playing turf war...it was gone. It was over.

"...I...I'm done." She whispered, her voice shaking. "Sam I-I….I'm d...done."

Sam's heart wrenched as he heard her voice shake, and tears well up in her eyes. He saw something he'd never seen in all of his time knowing her.

She cried.

"...Cal…" He whispered, reaching out to wipe tears from her cheek with his free hand. He did his best to comfort her, but she was inconsolable, and Sam couldn't blame her. She was more passionate about turf war than she was almost anything else. Now, it was just gone.

She was quiet, or crying the rest of the hour in recovery. The nurses upped her pain medicine to try and ease some of the pain, but it didn't take away the doomed, lost feeling. It wasn't until they got her up in a room an hour later that the doctor ordered something to calm her down so she would sleep. Sam didn't leave her side until she was 100% out. Once she was, he went back down to the lobby to talk to the others.

Everyone kind of felt her stomach sink when they saw the look on his face.

"...pretty bad?" Pearl asked quietly, taking Marina's hand tightly in her own.

"Y-Yeah. She um...She um doesn't look good...she didn't take the news well either." He said with a sigh. "...she cried the entire hour, up until they gave her something to knock her out. She's heartbroken…"

Pepper bit his lip, rubbing his face a little. "...fuck." He muttered, putting a slight look of shock the twin's faces.. "I...didn't even think of that."

"...she'll have to learn to live with it." Sam said quietly. "For right now, we need to figure out a few things. They'll probably send her home in at least a few days, someone needs to stay with her. I'll stay nights with her and stuff, I'll be there when I can since she took care of me when the stuff with my parents happened. But I...kind of work like...a lot."

"I got it." Pearl said quickly. "I'll stick around and stay with her when you can't. I live closeish anyways."

"I'll be backup, I'll do whatever you guys need!" Pepper said quickly.

Sam took a deep breath, feeling at least a little better when he heard they were happy to help. "...okay. Okay, this is going to be okay. We got this." He said. "...okay. She's asleep right now, I need to go with Marie to get a hotel and stuff."

"I'm going to go see her," Pearl said, "...what room is she?"

"405." Sam said as he walked over to pick her stuff. "I-If she wakes up and I'm not there, just tell her I'll be back as soon as I can, alright?"

Pearl nodded, smiling a little. "...yeah, I will. No problem."


	17. Let me make 200 char chapter titles ffn

Calamari slept most of the day after the accident. The only time anyone woke her up was to talk to the nurses who checked on her every so often and the police when they came by much later. She explained to them what had happened, and they took their notes so they could press charges.

By the next day they didn't give her any more tranquilizers, but she'd become less distraught and more distant. When Sam came to see her the next morning he lightly knocked on the door and stepped inside. "...Hey Cal," He whispered with a soft smile. "How are you doing?"

"...I'd shrug if I could but I can't." Calamari muttered back. She didn't really look over at him, she just stared at the blank TV.

"...that good, huh?" Sam asked and went to pull up a chair besides her bed. "Are you...at least feeling any better?"

"Physically? No. Emotionally? No." Cal answered, before just looking over at him and sighing. "...I just feel kind of...numb now."

Sam nodded, and reached out to take her hand. "I can't blame you…" He whispered.

"...I don't want to talk about it, really." She explained after another few moments of silence. "But I should, I won't be any better off not talking about it. I won't feel better, I'll feel about ten times worse."

"...well, if you want to...I'm all ears." Sam said quietly.

She nodded, and for at least a minute she was just quiet, staring at the ceiling. She finally swallowed hard to speak. "...M-My entire life...was this. I wanted this more than anything since I was young…" She whispered. "Now it's gone. Now it's just...all gone. Ripped out from under my feet."

"...at least you got the championship." Sam said with a small shrug.

"I-It's...It's not about that. I-I loved playing, I just...I loved it. I can't do it anymore." She said. "...I planned on doing this for the rest of my life, you know? Playing on teams, keeping that championship...now I don't know what I'm going to do for the rest of my life. All sense of direction….gone."

Sam wasn't totally sure what to say to that. What COULD you say to that? He watched Calamari squeeze her eye shut, taking shaky breaths. Finally, he spoke. "...Cal?"

She opened her eyes, and looked at him, waiting to see what he would say.

"I'm….I'm really sorry this happened to you. If I could, I'd take it all for you. I really would. I love you that much and...I love you no matter what, right?" He said quietly. "...I...don't know what you'll do after this but...life isn't over. I-I got kicked out of my parents house and I left my sisters behind and I was homeless and...life wasn't over. Nothing is ever over you just….you keep going because there's always something in the future, and I swear to god I'll be there for whatever it is. We're in this together, right? For the long run."

Calamari watched him for a long moment, and bit her lip. After a few more moments, she just nodded. "...r-right." She choked. "I-I just...don't know where we'll go from here…"

"Well, the doctor is going to come by, right?" Sam asked. "..we'll see how much therapy and how many more surgeries you might need and...how well you'll heal, then we'll go from there. And whatever your life is gonna be after that, we'll manage it."

Calamari nodded, and she held her only arm out for him. As gently as he could he leaned down to give her a hug, burying his face in the crook of her neck, feeling her hand on his back. "I love you, alot." He muttered.

"...love you too, Sam."

Sam eventually had to pull away, but he sat in the chair next to her with his head on the bed by her leg so she could just rest her hand atop his head, running a thumb over his hair. She'd almost relaxed enough to fall asleep when there was a light knock on the door and a doctor in a white coat stepped inside.

"Good morning Miss Umeno. How are you feeling today?" He asked as he put that weird hand sanitizer stuff on his hands.

"Uhh...I mean...pretty shitty." Calamari admitted, taking her hand off Sam's head as he quickly sat up to look at the doctor.

"Have they been able to manage your pain pretty well?" He asked, sitting down in a stool and rolling over to her bedside.

"Yeah, for the most part…"

He nodded. "Alright, that's good. That's usually the toughest part…..well we're going to just take a look at everything. We're going to look at your arm first just to change out the dressing and make sure it's looking alright." He then glanced at Sam a little. "...if you want to leave…"

He shook his head. "Oh, no it's fine. It won't bother me." He said quickly.

The doctor nodded, and the nurse that was with him went to close the door before they started to look at her arm - or, what was left of it. He took the gown off her right shoulder and undid the bandages just so he could look at it and make sure it was healing alright and wasn't getting infected. It...looked pretty gruesome, but the doctor seemed to think it was healing alright.

The nurse worked on redoing the bandages while he moved to look at her leg. For now, it seemed to be in a pretty tight cast, and last but not least he did take a look at her eye before they bandaged that side of her face up again. He took the gloves he wore off, and wheeled himself over to the computer. "...alright, all in all it looks like you're healing pretty alright. I was kind of worried about gangrene in the leg especially since you've got Marfan Syndrome but your heart seems to be handling things, getting blood out to it alright."

Cal kind of nodded, although she glanced at Sam a tiny bit. He gave her a weird look, wondering what in the hell he was talking about. She waved her hand a little to say she'd tell him later.

"We're going to keep you just a few more days because of Marfan, but after that...I guess that's what you're curious about." He guessed, glancing over at her.

"...yeah, I'm...kind anxious to find out." Calamari said, and she silently reached over to take Sam's hand tightly.

"So we'll discharge you from here after a few days. You've kind of got a choice, you can stay in like a rehab facility for a few weeks, or we can have you go home and we can see about maybe someone coming to your house to help you with therapy."

"...can we do the second one please?" Cal asked. "I would uh...much rather be at home."

"...I can't blame you." He said with a nod. "So we'll do that. We might need another surgery on your leg depending on how well it heals. After it heals mostly, we're going to look into a brace that will help you kind of support weight on that leg. Because right now, you couldn't hold up anything on it if you tried. So until we get the brace that will help you walk again, you'll be in a wheelchair."

Calamari nodded as she listened before she spoke again. "...so...I might be able to walk again one day, but I'm without an arm for the rest of my life, and an eye."

"The brace will have you walking again, I'm pretty sure." He said. "So...just have to do the therapy and be patient with yourself...alright?"

Calamari audibly sighed. "...r-right. Alright, thank you." She said. She seemed disappointed even as the doctor left. Maybe she was hoping for a miracle of some kind, even when she knew that was impossible.

Sam could see it on her face, and he simply scooted forwards to hug her again, this time staying snuggled up to her as long as he could. He decided against asking her about what the doctor had said, about...whatever Marfan was. He just wanted to comfort her.

Calamari left the hospital a few days later much to her delight. She was happy to be at home, in her own bed with some decent food. Pearl stayed with her during the day, and Sam came to stay with her when he wasn't at work. He spent a lot of time laying besides her on the couch or in bed as she slept off pain pill after pain pill. Although he worried, he was happy just to be close to her.

It really took her a few weeks to get to where she could move around on her own and take care of herself. She was good at getting in and out of the wheelchair on her own, and moving around the apartment. She didn't need as many pain pills either.

Sam sighed as he stood in the kitchen, getting together something for her to eat for dinner so she didn't have to do any big cooking. "...okay, I put some stuff in the fridge for dinner!" He called, before turning to walk into the living room where she was sitting on the couch with a bag of cheetos. "...are you sure you're good by yourself tonight?" He asked.

"Yeah, I think I'm okay." She said, glancing up at him. "If I need anything I'll call Pepper or Pearl, I promise."

"Okay, if you swear." He said softly. He leaned down to kiss her head. "I'll be out pretty late. I think the concert starts at 7 and then it's about an hour or two and then clean up so….ugh. A while. Too long."

"It sounds too long." She said, reaching up to pat his head. "I'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too." He muttered, kissing her head one more time before he stood up straight. "Okay, I'm leaving. I'm heading out, I love you!"

"Love you too!" She said, sitting up just a little to watch him leave. Once he was gone, she fell back on the couch and looked to the TV. A sense of dread settled into her chest as time ticked by. She hadn't really been alone since she came home from the hospital. She'd always had someone to talk to, someone to help her not think about being dragged to the ground and having her eye gouged out.

Now, all she had was her thoughts and this stupid reality TV show that wasn't actually helping. She just found herself staring at it, and running memories through her head over, and over, and over. No matter what she tried, they didn't really stop.

Finally, she sat up. She reached over to grab the wheelchair and drag it over so she could use her good leg to get up and into the chair before wheeling herself into the kitchen. She had an idea of what might put the thoughts away. She opened a bottom cabinet, reaching inside to pull out a bottle of alcohol. She thought about grabbing a cup, but honestly what was the use? She threw the bottle in her lap and went back to sit on the couch to continue to watch the stupid reality TV show and work on emptying that bottle.

She found that she was right about it chasing away intrusive thoughts. She didn't really think at all. She just drank a little more and watched the TV. Before she knew it, the room was dark and the front door was opening.

She heard Sam come in the door and dump his stuff besides it. He looked up at the TV then at Cal's form on the couch. "...damn, Cal you still up?"

"Mhhmmm…" She hummed, barely glancing back.

"I figured you'd be in bed by now, it's kinda late." He said as he walked over to lean over the couch and kiss her hello. As he leaned down, and as Calamari turned her head a sickly familiar smell hit him.

Alcohol.

He stopped, and pulled back a little. "...uhhh...Cal?" He asked, looking around for the bottle. "Have you been drinking?"

Calamari kinda sighed, and reached down to pick up the bottle off the floor and take another drink. "Yeah…" She muttered.

"Uuuhhh-" Sam reached down to grab it from her before she took a drink. "-aren't you still taking pain medicine?"

"I haven't taken any since earlier today." She muttered, letting him tear it from her hand.

"Still, you shouldn't be drinking. Why on earth were you drinking anyways?" He asked, grabbing the cap from the couch side table and screwing it back on before going to put it away.

"I dunno...I couldn't stop thinking."

Sam quietly walked over to her, and sat on the arm of the couch. He reached out to brush tentacle...hair out oher face, but his hand shook. He was reluctant to touch her, he was reluctant to be here talking to her, even if he knew she wasn't violent. "...thinking about what, exactly?"

"What happened." She said. "You know….how I fuckin' lost my arm and shit."

Sam let out a long sigh. "Calamari Umeno you can't drink that away." He said as firmly as he could. "If you're going to try and drink when anyone is gone I'll get Pearl or Pepper to stay."

"Sam I'm not a child." She muttered, reaching up to push his hand away. "I just needed to drink tonight, that's it. I'm sure I'll handle it better next time."

Sam bit his lip, watching her face. He couldn't tell if she was being truthful. While he knew she enjoyed drinking, she didn't usually do it very often…

He sighed again. "...alright. Fine, I'm sorry. Just...come on, let's get you to bed."

"...yeah, sounds good." She muttered and sat up on the couch. Sam helped her into the wheelchair, and he pushed her into her room. He helped her get a bath, and get dressed before she was in bed. He got dressed into just some shorts and a tank before climbing into bed with her. He moved to wrap his arms around her waist, burying his face against her back.

He could feel her breath coming slow and even as she slept, but….he just couldn't sleep for the longest time. He stayed wide awake, staring into the darkness as he listened to her breath. Tonight was the first time she'd ever drank but...would it be the only time? What was he going to do if she made a habit out of this? He didn't know if he could live with someone who was drinking every night. He didn't think he could do that again.

He sighed, and closed his eyes as he nuzzled her back again. He would have to cross that bridge when he got to it, even if the bridge seemed closer than he realized.


	18. Bad Habits

Sam hurried out of the rain and up onto the front porch of Callie and Marie's house. He reached out to pull open the front door so he could step inside. "Hey!" He called as he took off his jacket and hung it by the door. "I'm here!"

"Saaaammm! I'm in the kitchen!" He heard Callie call. He followed her voice, smiling when he came into the kitchen to see her standing there cutting up a cucumber and throwing the slices in a bowl. He stayed in the kitchen door, watching her a little warily until she put the knife down and turned to hold her arm out for a hug. "How's it going?"

"I'm alright, I suppose. You two doing alright...?" He asked as he hugged her.

"Oh yeah, I think Marie literally just woke up." She laughed a little, jerking her head towards the back. "...she's out back smoking."

"Thank you Callie." Sam said as he quickly pulled away and made his way through the kitchen and living room to the back door.

As he stepped outside he spotted her leaning on the railing of their pack porch watching the rain come down, a cigarette between her fingers. She glanced back at him and got that half-smile on her face that always made Sam's heartbeat a little faster. "Hey Sam…"

"Hey!" He said, going to put an arm around her waist to hug her. "It's so good to see you…"

"You saw me like... last night. At work." She muttered as she turned to hug him tightly, resting her chin atop his head, closing her eyes for a second.

"I knoowww…" He muttered, just resting his head against her upper chest. "...I just...needed to see you."

Marie hummed, moving to snub the cigarette out on the porch railing so that she could just hold him. "...something wrong?" She asked, swaying back and forth a little and rubbing his back.

Sam sighed, and for a long moment he was quiet. Marie didn't push, she just...held him. When he pulled away, all he did was sigh again and glance at the cigarette now sitting on the ledge. "...can I get one from you?"

Marie paused, and she furrowed her brows. "...you want a cigarette?" She asked with slight disbelief.

"...yeah." He answered, holding his hand out.

Marie reached into her back pocket to grab one from the carton and her lighter. "...I didn't know you to smoke." She admitted, putting it in his hands.

He thanked her quietly, and reached up to put it between his lips. "...I've never smoked before now." He admitted, and reached up to light it like he'd seen his mother and father do hundreds of times.

Marie watched him as he took a deep breath and immediately choked on it. She just reached back to get another for herself since she didn't finish the first one. She grabbed her lighter back. "...how's that?" She asked, watching him stare at the cigarette with a slight look of disgust.

"Isn't this supposed to relieve stress or something?" He asked.

"...I mean...it does me." She admitted with a shrug.

Sam kind of sighed, and went to take another drag on it. "...well, I'll do anything for that sweet stress relief."

"...riiiiight. Sure, alright. Just get your own pack." Marie said with a smirk. "...they're expensive."

"Yeah, I know. Maybe that's why we didn't have any fucking money growing up." Sam muttered.

"...your parents smoke alot?" She asked him, moving to sit on the ledge.

"Yeah. They both smoked all the time. My mom did drugs and my dad drank all the time." He said bitterly. For a moment, his stomach tightened up into knots thinking about how Calamari had been drinking at least every night the past week or two.

Marie reached over to take his hand and squeeze it tightly. "That what's eating you?" She asked.

Sam sighed, watching smoke float up into the air. "...yeah, kind of. I kinda wanted to talk to you about that…"

"Talk away."

"...okay. Remember that concert we had a few weeks ago?" He asked. "Friday night. First night I left Cal on her own since the accident."

Marie nodded, tapping ashes off her cigarette. "...yeah, I remember that." She said carefully.

"I came home, and she was drunk. She'd drank like most of a bottle of whiskey. She just said she needed it just that night." Sam explained.

Marie's eyes snapped to Sam, and he saw a little more alarm in them. "...well...was it just that night?" She asked carefully.

"...no...it's been every night since." Sam answered, gritting his teeth. "Y-Yesterday I came home from work and she was already drunk. Sh...She's defensive when she's actually drunk, and I...I don't know I can't stand being around her. I can't stand smelling it, I can't stand hearing her be sick in the morning because she drank so much I-I...it's my dad. It's like watching my dad."

"...that's dangerous." Marie said after a long moment of silence. "...you haven't talked to her?"

"I'm scared to!" Sam nearly cried, "I-I...m-my dad was s-so cruel I'm...Marie I'm _scared."_

"Okay, Okay, Sam." Marie said quickly, reaching out to gently take his face, making him look at her. "Don't panic. Breathe. We'll figure this out. Have you talked to Pearl or Pepper?"

Sam shook his head, although he leaned his head into her hand and placed his hand over hers. "...no. Pearl doesn't seem like she would help, and...well I never considered Pepper."

"They seem like they've been friends a long time." Marie suggested. "He might know better how to help her, or at least help you help her. You can't let her go down this road and...you can't just sit here when this stresses you out. Stand up for yourself, Sam...so talk to Pepper. Text him later." She said softly, and leaned forwards to kiss his forehead.

"...thank you, Marie…" Sam whispered back, and he leaned forwards to wrap his arms around her waist, nuzzling her shoulder.

"Of course." She said with a small smile. "...hey, you wanna watch a movie or something today? Just relax?"

"Uh yes please." Sam said. "...I think you gotta carry me though, I'm too tired."

"Oh man, too bad." Marie muttered, pulling away from him and turning to walk in the door with a small smirk, leaving Sam stumbling a little bit.

"Marrriieeee!" He groaned, having to catch himself on the railing before he fell and followed after her. "You're so mean!"

"I know." She answered, looking back at him with a half-grin.

Because of Marie's suggestion, Sam found himself waiting anxiously outside the studio for him. He held at least his second cigarette that day in his hand, and he was about halfway through it when he saw Pepper walk down the sidewalk.

Pepper smiled, and waved. "Hey, Sam!" He said as he came up. "How's it going?"

"...uhh...alright, I guess." He said. "I gotta talk to you…"

"What about?" He asked, leaning on the wall besides Sam and watching him curiously.

"...it's about Calamari." Sam said after a long moment of silence. "...she's...drinking a lot."

Pepper's smile fell of his face, and he blinked a little. "...how much is a lot?"

"Like...every night. For a few weeks now. It's awful and...I don't even know how to talk to her I…" He trailed off. "...I need help."

Pepper looked away from Sam, and looked at the ground as he kicked a rock around a little. "...so you want me to talk to her?"

"...I mean...yeah. If you think it'll help." Sam said.

"Well...Let's do this." Pepper said, standing up straight. "Go stay with Marie tonight. I'll go stay with Calamari tonight, and I'll try to talk to her. We've...known each other a long time. I think maybe I'll be able to say something."

"...oohhh thank you Pepper you have no idea how much I appreciate that!" He said quickly. However, pepper held up a hand.

"...I'm going to tell her she can't do this, because for some reasons..I don't really know the reasons but I can tell you're not totally comfortable with this. Something about this freaks you out...but I can't fix this totally. You guys have to talk about this. That's the base of a strong relationship. My ex-wife and I fell apart because we hadn't seen each other in terrible spots before we married. So when our daughter died….when shit really got tough we didn't know how to communicate, we couldn't. We never….we never recovered. I don't want to see you and Cal fall apart because you're not communicating."

Sam found himself kind of staring at Pepper, and blinking. He glanced from his face to his left hand. "...you were married…?" He whispered.

"...yeah. Like I said….stuff went bad and I'm not married anymore." He said. "...but that just makes me push harder for you and Cal to talk and get through this."

"...r….right." Sam said slowly, shuffling his feet. "...alright. I-I'll….I'll make sure to talk to her too. I just...don't know how to...talk to her now when she seems so aggressive."

"...well. I'll still talk to her first." Pepper promised. "...Is she home right now?"

"Yeah, actually she is." Sam said. "...she probably won't be...you know, drunk yet. It's only lunch."

"...well." Pepper smiled weakly. "I hope she isnt. I'll go talk to her. I'll see you later Sam, don't smoke too much." He joked as he started to walk back towards his car.

"...I'll try. See ya, text me how it goes." Sam said a little nervously, watching him climb into his car and drive off. He was gonna need another cigarette.

Pepper drove for about five minutes to get to Calamari's apartment. He parked in front, and came up to the door to let himself in. "...hey Cal?!" He called as he stepped inside, leaving his stuff by the door.

"...Pepper?" He heard her call from the kitchen. After a moment, she wheeled herself into the entryway. "...oh, what are you doing here?"

"...well, I wanted to see how you're doing for one." He said, walking over to pull her into the best small hug he could.

"...and for two?" She asked as she hugged him, pulling away to look up at him with a look of curiosity.

"...well. Why don't you finish up what you're doing in the kitchen?" He asked. "...do you need help?"

"No, no I was just making a sandwich." She said, wheeling herself back to the counter to grab the plate and placing it in her lap.

"Oohh...sounds good." Pepper muttered, moving to push her back to the table so she didn't have to work so hard.

"Make yourself some." Calamari said, nodding her head towards the fridge. "There's still stuff in there. And some chips up in the cabinet."

"...aw thanks Cal, I think I will." He said, and went to make himself a sandwich as well. He thought the entire time about how exactly to approach her about the drinking. He decided to wait until they'd both eaten and he'd helped her move to the couch where she was a bit more comfortable.

"...sooo…." He started, running a hand through his hair...tentacles. "I need to talk to you about something."

"...shoot." Calamari said, glancing over at him.

Pepper took a deep breath before he spoke. "...Sam he um...he wanted me to talk to you, because he's...concerned. He said you've been drinking just about every night since you got...independent."

Calamari kind of paused, and she frowned deeply before looking at him with her one eye. "...Sam told _you_ that?"

Pepper bit his lip, and nodded. "...yeah."

"...Sam told _you_ to talk to _me._ Instead of coming and talking to me himself." She said with a clear hint of anger in her voice.

"Yes, but Calamari listen...he's nervous. He told me, because he's afraid to tell you this in person...I don't know why but…"

Calamari let her head fall against the back of the couch with a small groan. "...yeah, I know why." She muttered. "...what, does he think I'm gonna beat the shit out of him? Plus, what does it matter? I'm just trying to deal with the fact that I lost an arm and fucked up my leg and lost my eye too. He didn't need to tell you! I didn't want you to know!" She half yelled the last part.

"...okay, I can understand why'd you be upset he told me this and didn't come tell you, I get that and I warned him. But...I don't like that last part." Pepper said as carefully as he could. "...you don't need to deal with this by drinking, Calamari."

"I'll do what I want, _Pepper_." She hissed, clenching her fists. "I think I would know how to deal with my own trauma better than you."

Pepper kind of took a deep breath, trying to stay calm. He kind of wanted to smack her. "...I understand Cal, I really do. It's just that….for fuck's sake, I know that drinking isn't a healthy way to deal with things."

"I don't really care. I don't really care what happens to me because I'm drinking. What does it matter? I'm kind of useless now, don't you think?" She asked him, her words sharp and quick.

"Cal, no-"

"I dropped out of school to join you doing ranked battles. I put everything aside to play in turf war! I didn't get a fucking education, Pepper! Now I can't play, and it's not like I have even a highschool degree to get a decent job. That's if I could even work! I sit around here all day, and I watch TV. I. Am. Useless. I have no reason to _live._ I might as well drink myself to death, sooner rather than later-"

"CALAMARI." Pepper almost had to yell to catch her attention and get her to stop saying such awful things. Suddenly, his normally soft expression was gone. His gentle tone turned to a harsh one. "Playing turf war was not your reason to live."

"-uh, yes it was, I think I would know!"

"Cal listen to me." He said, "...you loved turf war, I _know._ But you know who else you love? What else you love? You love fixing weapons, taking them apart, putting them back together. You love s'mores. You love decorating the house for Christmas. For fuck's sake Calamari, you love *Samuel*. I can see it in your eyes when you look at him, you love him more than you have loved anyone. You're hurting him right now, and you're hurting yourself."

He paused long enough to look at her expression, which was one of shock and maybe a little regret. He took a breath, and let himself fall back into his normal gentle tone. "...I love you." He said quietly. "You're literally my best friend. You pulled me out of the deepest rut of my life when my daughter died, and when I had that awful divorce. When we were dating I loved you, and even now that we're just friends I still love you. Like a friend, like family….I just...I can't see you lose your life to that. I can't…so Cal just...just please...please think about what you're doing. Please…"

There was a long silence as Calamari just...stared at him. Shock and regret were written all over her face, and after a long moment she reached out to pull Pepper into a hug.

For a while, all they did was hold each other. Calamari buried her face against Pepper's shoulder. She refused to cry, and she rapidly blinked tears away from her eyes as she clung to him. When she finally spoke again, all she said was. "...I'm still going to rip Sam a new one for telling you all of this."

Pepper kind of laughed. "...I thought about warning him you'd probably be angry. But...just...remember he...he really was kind of scared to talk to you….I don't know why but...I think you know."

She sighed. "...fine. Maybe. I don't know. I need time to cool off."

"Yeah, that's fine. I'm staying here tonight, he's gonna go hang out with Marie." Pepper said, eventually pulling away from her so he could sit besides her on the couch "We can watch movies and stuff like old times just...minus the beer."

Calamari kind of sighed at the last part, letting her head fall back on the couch. "...I guess you're making me go without alcohol now, huh?"

"...honestly. I'd rather you decide to go without the alcohol by yourself and _want_ to go without it. I guess if you really want it…." Pepper started, but he let out a small sigh of relief when she shook her head.

"...no, I guess not." She said softly, glancing at him. "...not tonight."

Sam was more than anxious to return to Calamari's apartment the next day. He spent all day at work fidgeting in his seat and checking his phone to see if Calamari had texted him, but all he had was silence.

The walk home felt like it was much too long, but the walk to the front door seemed all too short. He pulled his keys out, and unlocked the door before he stepped inside. He put his stuff by the door, and hung his jacket and keys on the hook besides it. He spotted Calamari sitting on the touch with her one good leg underneath her and her face in one of her hands.

"...hey, Cal." He said quietly, walking over to the couch and sitting down on the other end. He watched as Calamari reached over for the TV remote and switched it off before sighing and looking at him.

"...we need to talk, don't we?" She asked.

"...yeah." Sam said quietly, "...we do…"

There was a few moment of awkward silence, before Cal spoke. "...okay, I'll start. Listen...I'm...sorry I didn't think about how me drinking all the time might have made you feel, with your dad and all that stuff...I was um...kind of trying to make myself feel better? And I'm sorry if I was ever...rude or mean to you when I was drunk. Or when I wasn't drunk. I've been um…pretty wrapped in my own misery and thinking I didn't have a reason to live. But, listen Sam….why didn't you come talk to me directly about this?"

Sam kind of bit his lip, fidgeting nervously with the hem of his shirt. "I...I mean…I don't know. You drinking always makes me nervous and...I mean, yeah, the stuff about my dad. If I told my dad he was drinking too much when I was still living with them, he'd beat the shit out of me. In fact, it happened multiple times. He's kind of this….huge, scary looking dude like…."

"...like me?" Calamari finished.

"K-Kind of. Only kind of." Sam said quickly, holding up his hand. "He was just tall and unbelievably muscular and gnarly looking, like he would snap one of us in half. Not that you look like that but...I don't know. It's hard not to be intimidated."

Cal sighed, and her shoulders slumped. "...alright. I can see that. I'm still just...upset you didn't trust me enough to come tell me. I mean….you still want to get married...right?"

"Oh, god yeah! Yeah, I-I do!" Sam said quickly.

"...then you have to communicate. _We_ have to communicate. You need to tell me when you're upset with me and not be scared. I need to tell you when I need help." Cal said. "...just...come on...promise me you'll talk to me."

"Only if you promise you'll talk to me." Sam said with a small, kind of tired smile.

"...I promise." She said, and held out her one hand for him.

"...I promise too." He said, and scooted over to sit besides her. He slipped an arm around her waist so he could rest his head on her shoulder. "...I love you."

"I love you too, Sam." She muttered, kissing his head. "...you know, yesterday Pepper made me realize something kinda huge."

"...oh?"

"...I was thinking turf war was the reason I was living, but I think I found out what I really wanna live for."

Sam looked up at her with an eyebrow raised. "...what is it?"

Calamari smiled down at him. "...you."


	19. Promises

The morning after they'd talked, Sam found himself waking up in Cal's bed right besides her. He yawned, and reached over to grab his phone to look at the time and found a text from Marie that she sent after he'd fallen asleep. It simply read 'Hey, Callie and I need to talk to you about some stuff. Can we meet early tomorrow?"

He frowned, and glanced up at the time in glowing white numbers. It was about 7 in the morning, and he normally got to work around 9. He just sighed, and replied he'd get there about 8, and to come in when they could. With that out of the way, he slowly sat up and moved to lean over and kiss Cal's head to say goodmorning, but found she wasn't there.

After he frowned once more and blinked a few times, he pulled his phone off his charger and quickly crawled out of bed to go to the bathroom.

"...Cal?" He asked, pushing the door open only to find it dark and empty. Worry made his stomach twist into knots as he turned and walked out of the bedroom and into the apartment hall. He walked out into the living room, and sighed when he spot the kitchen light on. He walked through the entryway, and found her sitting in her wheelchair with a glass of water in one hand, and some crackers in sitting in her lap.

He walked over to her. "...oh, Cal you scared me." He sighed. "...you okay? You aren't sick are you?"

She looked up at him with puffy red eyes. "...no, I'm not sick." She said with a small sniffle. "I was just...really hurting this morning. Took some pain meds so I'm eating before I go back to bed."

Sam noticed the sniffles, and the red color in her eyes. "...have you been crying?" He asked quietly, squatting down so that he could be level with her and take her hand when she put the water down.

"Y-Yeah, just a little. It just really hurts today…" She said.

Sam frowned, and his stomach dropped a little. Calamari never really cried, so if pain was making her cry…

"Do you need me to stay home today?" He asked quickly. "...I can stay home!"

"Sam don't worry about it…I'll probably sleep most of the time anyways. I didn't sleep well anyways…" She shrugged her one good shoulder and monched another cracker.

"...well, okay. If you're sure you're just going to stay in bed. If you do wake up later before I get back around 5, call Pearl or Pepper up, they'll come sit with you. I seriously don't want you to be alone today with you in this much pain, got me?" Sam said in as gentle and firm of a tone as he could.

"I got you." Calamari said with a weak smile, finishing the last cracker and setting the glass and package on the counter. "...will you help me get back to bed?"

Sam stood, and walked behind her so he could push her chair back to the bedroom. He helped her out of it, and back into bed where she was comfortable. "...when are you supposed to get fitted for that brace?" He asked as he pulled the blankets over her.

"I go into the doctor a week from today and we'll see then if it's healed enough to start using a brace." She said. "...then it's more physical therapy with the brace and staying off of it at home. And then I can start using it."

Sam hummed, and leaned down to kiss her head. "...alright, I just wondered. Get some rest, okay?" He whispered. "I'll be back around 5."

"...alright, night." She whispered back, before she closed her eyes and was fast asleep in a matter of minutes.

Sam grabbed a pair of clothes to change into, and did his hair-in-bun-eat-a-granola-bar-and-get-out-the-door routine before he got to his office at 8 as promised. He had some time to sit in his office and answer emails and return calls before there was a knock at his door and Callie and Marie came in.

His face lit up, and he stood to hug them both as well as kiss Marie hello. "Hey!" He said, "How are you guys?"

"Ehhh...we're okay." Callie answered as she sat down in a chair across from his desk. "...kinda nervous."

"...nervous?" Sam asked as he went to sit in his own chair.

"...yeah, we gotta talk to you about some stuff." Marie said, and then glanced at her cousin. It looked as if they were silently asking who was going to tell him. Finally, Marie took a deep breath and spoke.

"So...you know...this job with the news and doing all these shows has made us pretty popular, right?"

"Yeah! I'd say so." Sam answered, sitting forwards a little.

"...well we're kinda starting to think maybe we've...outgrown the news." Callie said carefully. "So...we wanted to step down and let someone else have some time in the spotlight, you know?"

Sam blinked. Then he blinked again. "...so…" He started. "...you guys are quitting….?"

"Yeah, basically." Marie said with a shrug.

"And we'll still see you!" Callie said quickly. "Seriously, you're like...one of my best friends at this point-"

"-and my boyfriend." Marie muttered.

"So you can still come over and hang out. And we'll stay long enough for you to find someone else."

Sam nodded, rubbing his face a little. "...alright. That's fine." He said, although he seemed more than a little worried. "I'll have to talk to Zach about how to find someone else. I'm honestly a little...scared we're not going to find anyone as good as you two. Then what happens?"

"Aw, Sam don't worry about it. Half our success was you. You're a great manager, I'm pretty sure you could make anyone work!" Callie said with a big smile.

"...plus…" Marie started with a small smile. "...I think I know someone."

"...you do? You got names? Numbers? I'm gonna need them." Sam said, grabbing a notepad from his desk.

"You got her name and number already." Marie answered. "...at least I would hope you do."

"...who?" He asked, brows furrowed.

"Pearl and Marina!" Callie said quickly, and Marie kind of rolled her eyes.

"I was gonna make him figure it out by himself!" She said as she lightly smacked Callie's arm.

"That's so mean, look at him you were giving him anxiety!" Callie said. "You messed up a perfectly good Sam! Look at him! He's got anxiety!

"He already had anxiety! His _mom_ gave him anxiety!"

"Okay, don't with that." Sam said quickly, pointing at Marie. "...not funny. Also, Pearl and Marina?"

"Sorry," Marie muttered. "...but yes. When Calamari was in the hospital I was talking to them in the waiting room. They're their own little band, I found it on squidcloud. I'll send you a link. It's pretty good stuff. They might be your next big thing."

"Hang on, I'll just pull it up on my laptop." He said as he turned his chair towards it. He pulled up squidcloud. "...what's the name?"

"Uh...I think it's Off The Hook?" Marie said, leaning over to watch him type it in. She spotted the first song pop up, titled Ebb and Flow. "There it is."

Sam hit play, and sat back in his chair to listen. He couldn't help but find himself bobbing his head to the beat. After a second, he looked over at Marie. "...you're telling me that gremlin raps? And she raps _well?"_

"Yep, she raps. And Marina is pretty good too, isn't she? I think it'd be a big hit…"

"...yeah, okay I can see it." Sam said, rubbing his chin as he thought. "I'll ask them to meet up with me, maybe we can get you guys out of here sooner than you thought, huh?"

Callie grinned, and she looked up at the clock. "...yeah, true. But for right now we gotta get going because the show starts kinda soon. Thanks, Sam!" She said as she stood and headed for the door. Marie stood to follow, just giving Sam one kiss before she too left.

Sam kind of smiled when he heard them high five as they walked down the hall.

Sam worked through the entire day, until about 2 when he got a text from Calamari saying she'd just woken up and she was calling Pearl over. His face lit up: this was perfect. He'd already mentioned Pearl and Marina to Zach and he seemed to be alright with meeting them. So now, he just had to talk to them.

He texted her back to say he was coming home for a little bit, and that he needed to talk to Pearl. He told Callie and Marie as well as Zach that he was heading out before heading home.

When he got there, Pearl was sitting on the couch besides a still very sleepy Calamari.

"Yo Sam, what's up?" She asked, glancing up at him from her phone.

"Not much...I actually came to talk to you, and Marina. Is she here…?"

"...no, but I can call her I guess? What do you need?" Pearl asked as she narrowed her eyes.

"I think I might have a job for you guys…" Sam answered as he sat his stuff by the door and hung his keys on the hook.

Pearl sat forwards a little more when he said 'job'. "What kind of job…?"

"So...don't say anything to anyone yet, but Callie and Marie are stepping down so...I need new pop stars." He explained. "Marie actually suggested you two."

Pearl's eyes widened, and she reached over for her phone. "Holy shit. Okay, let me call Marina!"

Sam nodded, and while she called up her girlfriend he went to kiss Calamari hello. Pearl got up to go to the kitchen so he just sat besides her.

"...you doing okay?" He asked her, looking her over with wory.

Calamari just kind of miserably shook her head no, and moved to hug herself.

Sam frowned. "...oh, Cal…" He whispered, and moved to scoot closer to her. "What's going on….?"

"Pain medicine isn't working." She muttered. "Just...having a rough time."

"Ah shit...want me to stay home after I talk to Pearl?"

She silently nodded, sniffling.

"Alright, I'll stay. I'll text Zach and Callie and Marie. I'll stay here."

She nodded, before leaning (way) down to press her head against his chest so he could just hold her. He did, gently kissing her head.

Pearl came back into the room after a little while. "Marina's on her way. She'll be here soon...uhhh…" She paused, glancing at them. "...should I like...leave…?"

"No Pearl…" Calamari groaned, not moving from her spot. "Were not having sex we're just snuggling because I'm hurting."

"Right, well...just don't start." Pearl muttered, plopping down on one of the chairs. They waited for Marina, and by the time she got there Calamari had fallen asleep in Sam's arms.

"Would you let her in, Pearl?" Sam asked. "I don't wanna wake Cal…"

"Yeah, sure." Pearl answered as she got up. She opened the door and let her in, leaning up to kiss her hello.

"Hey Sam and….oh, is she asleep?" Marina asked as she stepped in the apartment.

"Don't worry too much about it." Sam answered. "Just have a seat."

Marina nodded and sat down besides Pearl. "...so...what's the deal?"

"Okay...so don't say anything to anyone...Callie and Marie are stepping down. They're retiring, I guess and we need to find replacements. Marie suggested you two So...I wanted to talk to you about being the next Squid Sisters."

"We won't be the next Squid Sisters, but we'll be the new Off The Hook." Pearl said with a laugh.

Sam kind of laughed as well, before he held up a hand. "...well, hang on let me talk details."

He explained everything to them. From Splatfests to concerts to news. It was a little boring, and if Calamari had been awake when Marina got there she seriously would have fallen asleep again.

When he was done talking to them, he sat back. "I'll let you think on it because it's kind of a big decision I think…"

Pearl and Marina looked at each other for just a few moments before they both spoke.

"-we'll do it."

Sam kind of blinked. "...r-really?"

"It seems like it's hard to get famous up here." Marina explained.

"Yeah, exactly. We'll jump at the chance to get noticed." Pearl shrugged. "...so, when do we start?"

"W-Well...I guess...I don't know. Let me talk to Zach about it, and I'll let you know."

"Perfect!" Marina grinned, clapping her hands together.

Sam smiled. "Cool...well….you guys can stick around if you want, but I'm gonna stay home with Calamari and let he rest."

"Ah...alright I can take a hint." Pearl said as she stood, grinning slightly at Sam. "We'll head out. See you later, Sam."

Sam smiled a little and waved a little as they headed out before he just settled down snuggled up to Calamari.

Calamari slept for just a little while longer before she woke. By that time, it was around dinner.

"Hey Calamari….?" Sam whispered to her, reaching down to brush hair out of her face.

"Hmmm….?"

"You hungry?"

She sighed, and sat up a little before shaking her head. "No...too nauseated. Hurts too much."

Sam frowned a little. "...Damn...you can't take anything else?"

"I think I'm at my limit on pain medicine." She said. "I took some when I woke up a few hours ago…"

Sam felt worry settle in his chest, and he reached out to take her hand. "I'm sorry, Cal...I really am."

Calamari kind of shrugged her good shoulder, not looking at him. It was obvious she was trying not to cry again as she pulled her hand away from his to wipe tears away. "...not your fault." She said. "...those _stupid_ motherfuckers did this to me."

Sam bit his lip. "...yeah...they did." He answered quietly.

Cal put her face in her hand, and for a while she was quiet. Her brain was swirling with thoughts, all of them negative.

Sam reached over to wrap an arm around her waist, pulling her close to him. Even if she didn't quite respond or hug him back….she kind of appreciated it.

When she finally spoke again, her voice was shaky. "...Sam?"

"...yeah?" He asked quietly, looking up at her.

"...you know how I said I need to be honest about feelings when I have them?" Cal said, resting her chin atop his head. "...I want to drink or kill myself. Or both, both would be nice. I could drink so much I die. I've been thinking about it basically since I've been sober."

Sam bit his lip again. He pulled away from her, and reached up to take her hand from her face to hold it.

"...I feel bad that I feel that way. I want to...want to live and be sober but I don't. I feel like I should be over it." Calamari continued, before sighing.

Sam had to think for a little bit about what to say, running his tongue over the deep scar that crossed the right side of his lips as he thought. Finally, he spoke. "...well...you can't expect to have a one hundred percent smooth recovery. Those don't exist. I definitely didn't recover from all the stuff that happened to me and….I'm still not recovered, actually. I got nervous the other day because Callie was holding a knife. It's just...going to be like that. So don't feel bad that you're not having a smooth recovery, first of all."

"Second of all...I'm proud you haven't drank for the past couple of days, even if you really wanted to. It really means so much that you're trying...and I think it shows that you can keep trying, and fighting. Right?" He asked.

"...r-right, yeah...I guess." Calamari replied, running her thumb over the top of Sam's hand as she listened.

"Right. And you're still not alone, and you'll never be alone. You've got me and Pepper and Callie and Marie and Pearl and Marina and...I mean I could go on, but I think you get the point. And I mean….there's so much to look forwards too and...you can keep going for you too."

"...and for you." Cal answered after a little bit, smiling weakly. "You too…"

"...and...like, everyone and everything." Sam said with a firm nod.

Cal sighed, and she fell back against the couch with a small smile. "...yeah. Everyone and everything." She said, looking up at the ceiling. "...Sam, can I make you a promise?"

"I mean...sure, if you want to." Sam said, watching her curiously.

"...I'm never gonna kill myself. No matter how much I want to. No matter how much i think about it. When it comes down to me having to make a yes or no decision on whether or not I should end it...I'm gonna say no because I promised you I'd say no. I swear it." Calamari said, looking up at him with a determined look on her face.

Sam took a moment to think about it, before he nodded. "...alright, but I'm going to hold you to it...alright?" He said with a weak smile.

Calamari nodded. "Yeah, please do." She said softly, before she held her arm out for him to scoot closer, trying to relax and ignore the pain coursing through her body.


	20. Dad Zach, or Dach, if you will

Sam stared up at the finished splatfest stages. The one to his right was decorated green for his girlfriend Marie, while the one on his left was decorated a bright pink. It was perfectly fitting for the theme of Callie and Marie's final splatfest: Callie vs. Marie.

He mindlessly played with the I.D. badge hanging around his neck as he thought about how he got there. He thought back to walking into the sweltering hot Grizz Co. and seeing the inkling on his phone and the most out of place man he'd ever seen who turned out to be his boss and one of his closest friends Zach.

He thought about walking into Zach's office for the first time, and his first day on the job. All the way up until he met Callie and Marie. He remembered being nervous to meet them, and falling head over heels for Marie the moment he met her.

He thought about waking up with both Calamari and Marie by his side after his parents almost murdered him, and he remembered their very first splatfest. Sitting side by side on the stage as the last inklings left, both their legs dangling off the edge, their hearts pounding after a confession.

Now, he was standing there just minutes from Callie and Marie's final splatfest.

Yeah, he was a little emotional.

He jumped when he felt someone clap a hand on his back, and looked over to see Zach standing besides him with his hands on his hips.

"Well, I gotta say this splatfest is looking pretty good Sam!" He said, and glanced at him with a grin. "You ready for 48 hours?"

Sam kind of sighed. "...I mean...not really but I took a really big nap with Cal today so...maybe I'm more ready than I think?"

Zach laughed. "I doubt," He admitted. "But you guys will have lots of breaks and lots of coffee, I promise it."

"Oh, thank God." Sam muttered. "...I was afraid you'd make us stay up the whole 48 hours."

"Pssshhhhh. Of course not." Zach said, before he finally just sighed. "...well, Sam….?"

"...yeah?"

"I gotta tell you something."

Sam's eyes snapped up to him, both a little wide. "-oh god you're not firing me, are you?" He asked.

"Oh my good god no." Zach said quickly. "I couldn't handle the new girls on my own, especially not that little gremlin…no, I...wanted to say I'm really proud of you, Sam. I really am. I didn't know what to expect picking some random kid up off the street and giving him a job...but you did a great job. You'll keep doing a great job!"

Sam looked up at Zach, his eyes a little wide. "...you mean it?" He asked quietly.

"Yeah, Of course I mean it! I'm so...so so so proud of you." Zach said. Before he spoke again, his voice got a lot more gentle. "...Sam I….I don't know what happened to your family. I know you didn't have anyone to be with around the holidays...I was so happy to have you and Calamari over at my place. But I um...I only have my two daughters and my wife and...I always wanted a son and...well...I kind of see you as one. If….that's...okay."

Sam looked up at him, blinking as tears welled up in his eyes. "...Zach we're about to have a 48 hour splatfest and you're gonna make me cry." He said in a small shaky voice.

"-aaaahhh sorry maybe I shouldn't have said anything." Zach said quickly, running a hand through his hair.

"No no no…." Sam said quickly. "...I'm glad you did I...you know I've never had a real...not awful dad and...it's...nice to have a dad figure." He admitted.

"...well, then I'm just your dad now, got it?" He said with a small grin, and held an arm out for him. "...really. I mean it. I don't know what happened to your real dad but…"

"Fuck him." Sam said, leaning over to hug him tightly. "...he's not my dad. I'll take you over him anyday."

"Alright," Zach said as he pulled away from Sam. "...Well...the show starts up in an hour, you should probably get going. I bet Marie wants to see you."

"Oh, yeah. You're right." Sam said, leaning down to pick his clipboard up from by his feet. He waved to Zach, and headed to the studio so he could find Callie and Marie.

They were both in the studio's dressing room getting ready for their final performances. Marie stood with her back to him, humming a little as she was just fixing her hair. He came up behind her, and wrapped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

"...hey Marie." He said softly, watching her in the mirror. "You look great…"

"Yeah I better, I have to win this splatfest." Marie muttered. "...we all know looks are like...50% of it."

"Well if looks are 50% of it you're going to win." He said with a small grin, burying his face in the crook of her neck just making her roll her eyes.

"Ohhh quit flirting with me." She muttered, reaching back to pat his head. "...we've got a show in what...45 minutes?"

"Yeah…" He sighed, picking his head up and letting go of her waist. "...your last splatfest. Then Marina and Pearl are taking over and the age of the squid sisters is over…"

"You're such a theatre kid." Marie muttered, watching him sit in a stool nearby. "Soooo dramatic."

"What can I say?" Sam said with a playful smirk before it just seemed to fade away, and he sighed. "...I...really can't believe this is the last splatfest though."

"...yeeaahhh...but we're moving onto better things...right?" Marie said that in a way like she was reminding him that this was good for them.

"Right…" He said, his shoulders slumping. "I'm just going to miss you guys."

"We're still going to see each other, Sam." Marie said softly, reaching down to caress his face. "...you realize that? We're not breaking up…"

Sam leaned his face into her hand a little more. "...yeah, I know." She said softly. "I know. I think I'm just...I'm anxious about all of this. I got away from my parents and...this was the first good thing I had going for me and it lasted so long and I'm afraid of losing it to Pearl and Marina. Losing my job and...you know."

"...oh, Sam." Marie said in a soft tone that was...unusual for her. "It's going to be okay, I swear. You're an amazing manager…"

Sam nodded after a long moment, and he took a deep breath. "Okay. Right. You're right." Sam admitted. "I gotta stop worrying."

"Mmmhmmm…." Marie hummed, running her thumb over his cheek.

"Well…" Sam said eventually, standing up. "We've got thirty minutes...you need to get backstage, and I need to do manager things."

"Ah, right. My job. Hey, good luck kiss…?" Marie asked with her normal half grin that always made Sam's heart melt.

"Of course." Sam answered softly, leaning up to give her a small kiss. "...I love you."

Marie smiled a little more. "I love you too." She said, before she turned to leave.

The splatfest went off mostly without a hitch. Sam spent most of his time doing background work while he smoked at least a whole pack or two of cigarettes, but he had time to nap with Marie on the couch when they were allowed to rest. He also took time to watch Marie's solo performance. Watching her dance, and listening to her sing made him remember why he had fallen in love with her in the first place.

At the end of the 48 hours, Sam was so exhausted he could barely walk home. Nonetheless, he dragged himself to Calamari's apartment. He just needed to see her, and check on her.

He fumbled with his keys and slowly let himself inside. The apartment was dark and quiet, but the stench of alcohol was the first thing Sam actually noticed. His stomach dropped and a sense of dread settled into his chest.

"...Cal?" He called, putting his bag quietly on the couch and moving back towards her room. The alcohol stench got stronger, and his mind wandered back to not too long ago when Calamari had mentioned that she wanted to kill herself.

He feared what he would find behind her closed bedroom door.

He reached out a trembling hand and pushed it open. "Hey Cal….?" He whispered, before stopping.

He saw her laying on her bed, still wearing her shorts and a shirt from the day. There were a scary amount of beer bottles sitting on her bedside table besides a bottle of pain pills.

His heart jumped into his throat and he dashed to her side. THe first thing he checked was the bottle of pain medicine to see how much was left, if any. He was relieved to find only a few were gone.

His eyes then snapped to her. He dropped the bottle of pills back on the table, and immediately pressed his fingers to her neck to feel for a pulse and watch her breathing. He barely found her pulse, and her breathing was slow and irregular.

"C-Cal?" He said, taking his hand away to try and shake her awake, only for her head to loll back and forth as he shook her. She was totally unresponsive.

He grabbed his phone, dialing whatever emergency number they use in Splatoon to try and get an ambulance out there. He told them the address and that he thought his girlfriend drank alot and she wasn't waking up or breathing all to well. When the operator asked if he wanted to stay on the line with her, he said no. He had to get ahold of someone else. He couldn't do this on his own.

The first person he tried was Pepper, but his phone rang until it went to voicemail. There was no way he would call Callie or Marie after they'd spent 48 hours awake performing. He scrolled through the contacts on his phone, and finally hit the bottom, his eyes landing on Zach.

He hit his name and the call button as fast as he could, and pressed it to his ear as he reached out to hold Cal's hand with his other. He glanced at the tips of her fingers, watching them start to turn a light shade of blue.

"-Hello? Sam?" Sam heard Zach's voice over the phone, sounding a little sleepy. "...something wrong….?"

"Z-Zach?" Sam said in a small voice. "I-I need you to meet me a-at the hospital, please-"

"-huh? What happened? Are you hurt?" Zach asked, sounding much more awake and alarmed.

"N-No but C-Calamari is she...she drank alot she's not waking up I called an ambulance I-I just...I need someone to go up to the hospital, and I-I couldn't call Callie or Marie-"

"Okay, okay. I'll be up there soon, alright?" Zach answered in a stern, but comforting voice. "Just ride up with Calamari to the hospital and I'll be waiting."

"Thank you," He said, quickly wiping tears from his eyes. He glanced up when he heard the sirens outside the apartment, and went to unlock the door. "I'm going to let you go I-I'll see you." He said, hearing Zach say goodbye before he shoved his phone in his pocket and opened the door for the incoming paramedics.

He tried to stay out of their way, but he answered all the questions they had. He told them she had Marfan Syndrome, she was on pain medicine for her missing arm and her leg but not much else, and just that he thought she drank too much. They got her up on a stretcher, and before he knew it they were speeding towards the hospital with Sam holding Calamari's hand as tightly as he could.

When they got to the hospital they told Sam to wait in the waiting room just outside the Emergency Room, and he regretfully agreed to. A nurse lead him out the double doors, and promised that she would be back with news as soon as they knew what was going on.

He thanked her quietly, and turned to look around the room for Zach. Relief spread through his chest when he spotted him sitting in a chair by the door, and he hurried over to him. "-Zach-" He choked, trying to hold back tears.

Zach looked up from his phone, and he immediately stood and walked over to meet Sam in a hug as the poor boy just started to break down in tears.

"...ohhh Sam…" He whispered, hugging him as tightly as he could before pulling away and taking his arm to guide him to a chair. "Come on, sit down. Deep breaths."

As Sam sat down in the chair, and buried his face in his hands Zach put his hand on his shoulder. "...she'll be okay, Sam." He whispered to him. "The doctors-"

He stopped short as Sam suddenly slammed his hand down on the arm of the chair hard enough to make even the receptionist look up from her computer. " _-why did she start again?!"_

Zach jumped back a little bit, before he bit his lip a little and took his hand from Sam's back. "...woah, Sam...now hang on…"

"-she said she was going to stop! She went two weeks without drinking and I leave and she _starts again?!"_ Sam snapped, anger clear in his eyes. "Does she not care? About me or...or fucking anyone else?"

"—woah. Okay. Sam, stop." Zach said, suddenly sounding very firm. "I think it's hard for you to understand what she's feeling and going through. You gotta have some sympathy and patience here. Her entire life got turned around and now she's missing an arm and an eye...I don't blame her for being upset. It's just that she's dealing with it wrong. She did good not drinking for 2 weeks but….Sam...everyone relapses, it's part of recovery and that's okay. You have to have grace. You have to have patience."

Sam took a deep breath, and let go of the arm of the chair to rub his face again. "It's hard for me to have patience when she...she knows how much I _hate_ this. It scares me."

"I gotta speak from experience here. When you're struggling with an addiction, and you're all alone and you can't call anyone...it's….overwhelming, Sam. You don't see anything else you can do but...but I guess drink. Have some patience, and grace. Please."

Sam sighed, sitting back in his chair and looking up at the ceiling. He took another deep breath.

"...I guess I'm being selfish." He muttered.

"...you want my true dad opinion™️ on that?"

Sam's head snapped up, and he looked at him with a confused look on his face. "How did you make the trademark symbol with your mouth—"

"—forget about it. Do you want my true dad opinion™️ on that?"

"...yeah." Sam said finally, sighing.

"Yeah. You're being selfish. You're thinking about yourself and how you feel and not how she feels. Maybe you should talk about that." Zach said, nodding towards the doors. "...when you can see her, of course."

"I….guess so." He said, and turned his head over to look at him. "...hey...Zach?"

"...yeah?" Zach raised an eyebrow at him, sitting back in his own chair.

"Thank you, for being here." He said quietly. "...I...really appreciate it."

Zach just broke into a smile, and clapped a hand on Sam's back. "It's no problem."

A/N: Holy cow, I cant believe were at chapter 20. I never expected to get past chapter 3. Thanks so much for support, guys! 3


	21. Together

Sam sighed as he made his way towards the hospital entrance. If he'd felt exhausted when he was walking home from the splatfest, he felt even more exhausted now. Spending most of the day in the ER waiting room with Zach to see how Calamari was doing just added more and more sleepless hours to the total.

He passed by a few people on his way out, he apologized quietly if he bumped into them and simply kept his head down. He didn't look up until he heard a familiar voice call his name.

He looked up to see Pepper hurrying towards him down the hall. He smiled very tiredly. "Hey Pepper." He said.

"-hey! God I'm so sorry it took me this long to get here. I got your text about Calamari I just, I was talking to Shrimp and Sal's parents and was dealing with that mess, but whatever, how is she?" He asked as he met Sam in the middle of the hall.

"They said she just...drank too much, gave herself alcohol poisoning plus...the pain medicine didn't help." Sam admitted. "They said that she's going to be out for at least a few days so...I was just about to walk home to grab some clothes and shower and stuff before I headed over to Marie's to catch up on some sleep...you wanna walk with me?" He asked.

"Yeah, I will." Pepper said, shoving his hands in his pockets as he turned to walk with Sam towards the hospital entrance.

"...thanks, I appreciate it." Sam answered, walking out into the night air. "What's going on with Shrimp and Sal?"

Pepper sighed, kicking a rock out of the way while they walked. "Well...you know, their parents travel like...all the time. They're NEVER home, so ever since we met I...kinda take care of them alot. Just...stick around and give them rides places and you know...kinda parent. Their parents called earlier today to talk about uhh...making me a legal guardian. They'd let me move in there to take care of Shrimp and Sal while they're away, and provide everything we needed. Just….they're not gonna be home enough. They want me to parent while they're gone."

Sam kind of blinked, looking around at all the people they passed by on their way to the apartment. "...well, are you going to do it?" He asked, glancing up at him.

"I think so. I would keep taking care of them even if this wasn't happening, you know?" Pepper answered, coming to a street corner and hitting the button to walk over and over again, as you do.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I'm glad you're taking care of them though. Kids need at least one good parent to depend on...trust me, I know." He said, his eyes scanning the sidewalk. He could hear music from down the street, and he was trying to figure out where it was coming from.

Finally, he spotted them. He recognized the young man as an octoling with a single tentacle sitting on top of his head. He was sitting behind a crappy little keyboard with a bucket by his feet for tips. Immediately, his hand went to his wallet to see if he could find anything to give him. He didn't have much in the way of cash, but what he did have he pulled out.

Once they could walk, he hurried across the street and over to the octoling so he could put what he had in the bucket. The octoling smiled wide. "-hey, thanks!" He said quickly.

"No problem," Sam said, smiling back before he started to walk on down the street glancing back only once.

"...that was nice." Pepper said as he caught up to him and walked alongside him.

"Well...it's good to be nice. Especially to people who need help." Sam said with a tired smile, finally walking up to his apartment and grabbing his keys to unlock it. "...someone helped me when I needed it, you know?"

Pepper nodded, following him in the apartment when he opened the door. "Yeah, that's true." He said, watching Sam walk around the apartment to gather up some things. "...so you're heading to Marie's?"

"Yeah. I need to catch up on some sleep and I'll feel better if I'm not by myself, or so I hope. Pearl and Marina's big debut is tomorrow so...I just...need to get some rest for that so I can be there even though my girlfriend is in the hospital." Sam said, sounding a little overwhelmed.

"I'll stay with Cal while you catch up on rest and work." Pepper offered, which made Sam smile.

"...just...call me if she wakes up. I-I want to see her. Know she's okay." He explained as he pulled a backpack on and headed back to his door.

"Of course, I will." Pepper said quickly, "...thanks for letting me walk with you but...I'll head back to the hospital now to sit with Cal. Get some rest, alright?"

"Yeah, Yeah. I will." Sam said with a tired wave as he walked out the door with Pepper and to the street. "...see ya, Pepper."

"See ya."

Sam headed to Callie and Marie's after Pepper left. He let himself in the door, and slowly made his way towards Marie's room with shuffling feet. As he came inside, he left his bag by the door, only taking what he needed to get changed and crawl in bed with Marie.

"...Sam?" She muttered, awoken by the shifting of the bed. "Did you just get here?"

"Yeah, Sorry, I was at the hospital with Calamari all day," He muttered as he moved to snuggle up to her.

"Oh, damn. Is she okay?" She asked, glancing back at him.

"Yeah, she will be. Alcohol poisoning." He said. "...need sleep, gotta get some before I have to go in later to deal with Pearl and Marina."

"When's that….?"

"Tomorrow."

Marie kind of laughed, and let herself relax again. "...I think you'll be okay. I think you've got time."

Sam hummed, and let himself slowly fall asleep.

—

Sam showed up at his office nice and early after a good night's sleep. He still felt like he was dragging, but he guessed staying up for almost 48 hours straight would do that to you. He answered emails while he waited, glancing at the clock as he very anxiously waited for Pearl and Marina to get there.

He knew they were there when he heard Pearl's loud voice down the hall. He had to take a deep breath to calm his anxiety before there was a light knock on the door.

"-Come in!" He called, turning his chair towards the door as it opened, and in walked Marina and Pearl.

"Heeeyyy Sam, what's up?" Pearl asked, going to plop down in a chair in front of his desk and sitting back in it while Marina gingerly sat down in the other chair, glancing at Pearl a little funny. "How is Calamari? I got your text kinda late last night."

"She's still out, as far as I know. I'll probably leave when Pepper calls me and says she's awake. I really need to talk to her." Sam admitted with a sigh. "...I'm anxious to talk to her."

"Yeah I think you two need to work some things out." Pearl muttered. "...so...what's up with the news, though?"

"Right. So…" Sam grabbed a few pieces of paper from besides his desk, setting them out in front of him. "You guys know the general news formula, right?"

"Yeah, I think so." Marina said. "...say hey, announce the maps and game modes…make any splatfest announcements...run out of time?"

Sam smiled a bit. "Yeah, basically. We do have a new sponsor though, Grizz Co. is paying for you guys to do a small segment when they're running shifts." He explained.

"Oh! Hell yeah I do salmon run shifts all the time!" Pearl said with a grin. "That should be easy peasy."

"I mean, I hope so." Sam admitted. "I'm going to stick around to make sure you guys are doing okay, but as soon as Pepper calls to say Calamari is awake…"

"You're out of here?" Pearl asked.

"Right. I'm out of here." Sam nodded. "There will be a script, of course, and we'll do a trial run before we go."

Marina let out a small sigh or relief. "Oh, good. I was kind of nervous…" She admitted quietly.

"Aw...you'll do fine Marina." Sam said with a small smile, standing up from his seat. "Wanna go do the trial run now?" He asked.

"Yeah! Can we please?" Marina asked, quickly standing up from her seat.

"Of course, come on follow me." Sam said, walking out of his office and leading them downstairs to the studio. The trial run went pretty flawlessly, and he felt a bit better about leaving in the middle of their first day.

The moment Pepper texted him that Calamari was waking up, he ran to his office, grabbed his stuff and was out the door. He barely even said bye to anyone, he was just anxious to see Calamari.

His heart beat hard against his chest as he walked to the hospital, and as he walked down the cold and sterile smelling hallway. He came to room 202, took a deep breath and knocked.

The door opened, and Pepper was standing there with a tired smile on his face. "Hey...good to see you Sam. Cal just woke up, come on…"

Sam nodded, and stepped inside as Pepper stepped aside and closed the door behind him. He met eyes with Cal, and his heart dropped a little. She had bags under eyes, and they were red and puffy. She just looked miserable.

He bit his lip, and came to sit in a chair by her bed. "Hey Cal…" He whispered, holding out his hand for hers.

She didn't quite take it, instead she stared at him with sort of a tired, and puzzled look on her face. "...you still wanna hold my hand?" She asked, her voice sounding raspy.

"...yeah. Of course I do." Sam answered, frowning. "...why wouldn't I?"

"You're pissed." She said. "...you're pissed I drank again and you're pissed you had to come home from..from a two day splatfest and I almost killed myself."

Sam kind of sighed, and glanced back to see Pepper slip out the door so they could talk. Smart man. "...well…" He started, looking deep in thought about what he was going to say. "...yeah I was mad, but it was for selfish reasons, I think. I don't know we...gotta talk. I've been anxious to talk since I found you."

Calamari nodded, and looked up at the ceiling above her so she could avoid looking him in the eye. "Go ahead...talk."

"...okay well…" Sam started. "...yeah I mean...I was kind of mad when I found you because I thought...like, don't you know how much this hurts me? Don't you know what I went through growing up? I recognized you had alcohol poisoning because of how many times I saw my dad like that. It scares me to see you like that because of my dad. It scares me because I think _I'm_ going to get hurt, but that's not true. You're not angry or violent...but...it's still not right for you to drink. But that's not...that's not what I even need to be saying." He said, pinching the bridge of his nose. "...I don't need to be scolding you. Listen...I...I wasn't right to be angry because recovery isn't smooth and...it won't help you if I'm angry. I want to help you."

"Sam...come on. I'm not helpable am I?" She asked, reaching up with her only hand to wipe tears from her eyes. "I feel like a lost cause."

"Because you slipped up?"

"That wasn't a slip up!" Calamari said, clenching her fist. "That was a major fuck up! I almost died! What if you went to your apartment instead of coming to check on me? You'd be at a funeral right now."

"Okay, you went backwards. You went backwards pretty far. You can come back though, and I want you too!" Sam said quickly. "...Cal...I care for you. I _love_ you. You're absolutely helpable. Recovery is always something you can achieve."

"...I don't feel like it is." She answered. "...I feel like I'm trapped inside my brain with all these bad thoughts and cravings and I can't...get out. I don't have anywhere to turn. You were at the splatfest and I didn't want to interrupt! You deserve a girlfriend who's not...fucking up and interrupting your work all the time! Especially when you've already dealt with so much."

"-splatfests don't matter. Work doesn't matter. I have all these assistant managers, and Callie and Marie knew what they were doing. Zach would have been there if I couldn't have been. I would have come home for you." He said quickly. "...you mean the world to me and I'll do _anything_ for you. No matter what I've already dealt with. Just because I had an awful past doesn't mean I'm going to have a good life the rest of the time. I'm not, and I don't mind if it means _helping you_."

Calamari watched him, her eyes getting teary again. "...really…?"

"Really. Please...if you're struggling...talk to me. Please. I want you too." Sam said quickly, holding out his hand for hers again.

She slowly nodded, and took it as she let out a small sob. Sam immediately got up, and pulled her into the tightest hug he could, letting her bury her face in the crook of his neck as she cried.

"I'm s-sorry I never even th-thought about...a-about your dad and…" She choked, gripping the back of his shirt with her hand. "I want to g-get better."

"You will, you will." He said quickly. "I'm gonna help you. Everyone is gonna help you, right?"

She nodded, trying to make herself stop crying and calm down. It was quite a few minutes before she pulled away from Sam just to look him in the eye as she took his hand again. She took a deep breath. "...I'm gonna get better." She whispered. "I promise. I'm gonna get better."

Sam smiled, using his other hand to caress her face. "...I know you are. We're going to do this together, got me?" He asked quietly.

Calamari nodded. "...r-right." She answered. "...together."

A/N: Calamari's recovery is dragging out quite a bit, but I would rather kms then show anyone that recovery is smooth and nice when it's totally not. Believe you me, my own recovery hasn't been smooth and I really wanna reflect that. So sorry if it's dragging a bit, but I need to get that across.

As always, thank you for reading! I ALWAYS appreciate your reviews! They make me so happy! 3


	22. The Octoling on the Corner

Sam rolled over in bed early in the morning to grab his phone. He texted Pearl and Marina to remind them that he wasn't coming into work that day, and to wish them luck. He told them to call if they had any issues, then rolled over to wrap his arms around Calamari's waist.

"...Cal…" He whispered, nuzzling her back. "We gotta get up. Your appointment is in like, an hour."

Calamari groaned a little, and slowly came to sit up. "Fuck…" She muttered. "Really?"

"Really." Sam answered, looking up at her as he still rested his hand on her waist.

"Fine. Can you help me get dressed?" She asked. "I think they said wear shorts."

"Oh god. Really?" Sam asked as he got up and stumbled to the dresser to pull a pair of shorts out and a shirt. "It's kind of cool out. Actually, it's cold."

"Yeah, but they need to fit the brace and crap." She muttered, working with him to get her clothes on and get in her wheelchair.

"Ah yeah, good point." Sam muttered. "...are you excited?"

"Excited…? I don't know. I feel like I'm gonna get there and he's gonna say I'm not ready." She answered as Sam pushed her into the kitchen.

"Oh, don't worry. I'm sure you are, you've been doing physical therapy for months now." Sam said quickly, moving to pull her hair up into it's normal topknot for her. "...Can you get some breakfast while I get dressed?"

"Yeah, of course. Go get ready." Calamari answered, wheeling herself to the fridge.

Sam nodded and ducked out to get ready. By 9:30 they were ready to go. Sam wrapped Calamari in a blanket before leaving the apartment, even if they rode in the car.

They got to the doctor's office and waited together in the waiting room. Sam reached out to hold her hand to help calm her nerves. When the nurse called Calamari's name, she almost jumped out of her chair. Sam stood, and pushed her back to the room and got her up on the table and soon the doctor was coming in.

"Good Morning, Miss Umeno." He said with a smile, holding out his hand to shake hers as well as Sam's. "How are you feeling?"

"...uh, alright, I guess." She said, nervously rubbing the nub on her shoulder where her arm should have been.

"That's good. How are you doing on pain?" He asked. "Are you still taking the heavy pain medicine?"

"N-No I'm not. " She said quickly. "It's really down to where I can take over the counter stuff. I'm just generally achey."

"Right, that's too be expected." He said. "...I'm going to transition you to another medicine you'll take regularly to help calm the nerves especially around your arm and help lessen daily pain, alright? It might upset your stomach so if that happens let me know." He said, looking over a small laptop he sat on the table. "...now, the fun part. Let me take a look at your leg, and see if we're ready for the brace."

Calamari nodded, throwing a rather nervous look at Sam and shifted so that the doctor could easily take a look. She watched him look it over, twist it this way and that as gently as he could before nodding.

"...last thing, I want to see if you can put ANY weight on it without the brace. Can you stand up?" He asked, holding out his arm for her to grab for support.

She nodded, grabbing his arm and slowly stepping down so she was only putting weight on her good leg. As soon as she was steady on that one, she slowly started to try and put weight on the other one. Like normal, it shook almost violently and quickly she had to take weight off before it just crumbled beneath her.

"...alright. Thank you, Miss. Umeno. Let's get you up on the table." He said, helping her up before going to the laptop on the table. "...so you're definitely ready for the brace. I'm going to have my nurses fit you for it and more than likely you can walk out of here with it today. The entire point of the brace is to help your leg support itself. You...probably noticed already but it just doesn't have the right structured to do that anymore. So the brace will, and then you can walk again with some practice, alright?"

Calamari nodded, shifting around nervously and excitedly. "O-Okay!" She said quickly. "Will I be able to like...start walking on it right away or do I need to take it easy at first?"

"Take it easy at first." The doctor answered. "If it hurts, don't use it too much. Let it get used to the brace. Now, there's one other thing…"

Calamari frowned a litte. "...yeah?"

"There is...another treatment we could try. It's a ways off, though. So I'm not sure it's going to happen anytime soon. It's a little experimental. It's a surgery to implant support from _inside_ the leg. You know how humans had bones? It would be like that. It would hopefully get rid of the need for a brace. However, I need you to be on that brace for a while before we consider it, alright? Think about it, however."

She nodded, glancing down at her leg. "...right. I'll think about it."

"Alright!" The doctor said with a smile. "...the nurses are going to come in to fit you with the brace, and we'll see how well you can walk with it!" He said as he walked towards the door. "...they'll be right in."

"Thank you!" Calamari said with a nervous smile. She waited, and she did her best to be patient when the nurses came in and got the brace on her leg. The head nurse smiled, and stood up when she was done.

"Alright," She said, holding a hand out for her. "Are you ready?"

She nodded, but glanced at Sam. "...a-actually...can he…?"

"Oh! You want him to help you?" The nurse asked, stepping back so Sam could take her place. "That's fine!"

Sam thanked her quietly, and got up from his seat to stand in front of her, holding out his hand with an encouraging smile. "...alright, ready?"

Cal nodded, taking his hand and slowly getting down from the table. She at first balanced on her good leg, before slowly starting to put weight on her other one all while holding onto Sam for support.

As she put her leg down, she found it wasn't crumbling beneath her or bending. It was strong, and steady thanks to the brace. She soon let go of Sam's hand so that she could stand on her own, grinning widely.

"-oh, awesome!" The nurse said, clapping her hands. "Okay, that's awesome. That's good. Now, do you want to try and take a few steps?"

She nodded, and took Sam's hand again. She took a very deep breath, held it, and moved her bad foot forwards. She leaned on that leg as she moved her other leg up, and before she knew it, she'd taken a step. She did it again, and again, barely holding onto Sam by the time they got to the end of the room. She looked down at Sam with the biggest and happiest look he'd seen on her since before the world championships.

"...Sam?" She whispered.

"...yeah?" He asked, getting a grin.

"I just walked across the room." She answered. "I walked across the room after being in a wheelchair for months. After almost losing my leg. _I just walked across the room."_

Sam's smile just kept growing. "—yeah." He said. "You did I...Cal I'm so happy for you. I'm so proud of you."

All of the sudden she hugged him as tight as she could, burying her face against his head as she squeezed her eyes shut. SHe hugged him for a few seconds before pulling away to look at the nurses. "...th-thank you." She said. "So much…"

"Of course! It's our job, that's why I love it." She said. "...are you ready to walk out of here?"

Calamari nodded, holding onto Sam's arm and starting to walk to the door. They signed out and Sam grabbed her wheelchair before they headed out, Cal walking to the car with her brace. She stood tall and proud, and she looked happier than Sam had seen her in months.

When they got home, Calamari wasn't one to sit still. She glanced up to Sam who sat besides her on his phone. "...hey Sam? It's not far from here to the studio, right?"

"No it's not, why?" He asked, glancing up.

"...could we take a walk down there? I can surprise Pearl." She said. "...I just...want to walk."

"Well….I mean I guess we could if you really wanted to. Didn't the doctor say to take it easy, though?" He asked with a clear frown.

"...I'll take it easy after this, Sam. Let's just go!" She said quickly, moving to push herself up off the couch.

Sam was quick to help her up as well and made sure she was holding onto his arm while they walked out the door and down the sidewalk. He looked around at everyone as they walked, and he couldn't help but spot someone familiar. An octoling boy with a torn up keyboard and a can by his feet. He couldn't help but frown. Was he still here….?

He walked past him and towards the studio, throwing him a small smile. He'd have to come back to talk to him, but for now he needed to help Calamari. So he took her to the studio entrance, waving at Katie the secretary to say hello as they walked back to studio.

Pearl and Marina just finished a show when they came in, and Pearl's eyes darted from the camera to Calamari as they signed off with their normal "Don't get cooked, stay off the hook!" routine. The moment they were off air, Pearl leapt off the platform and ran over to her cousin.

"—oh my god Cal, you're walking!" She cried, a big grin on her face. "Betcha thought you'd never get out of that wheelchair, huh?"

Marina hurried over as well, kneeling to look at the brace a little closer. It's mechanics were pretty simple (to Marina), and she glanced up at Calamari. "...it works pretty well, then?" She asked.

Calamari nodded to both questions. "Yeah! It works really well! I'm still getting used to it, I'm kind of wiped just from walking here."

"Well sit down!" Pearl said, taking her hand and helping her to a nearby chair. The entire way, she watched her as she moved looking almost as proud as Sam did. She made sure she was sitting down before sitting besides her, starting to chat with her.

Sam glanced towards the door, before glancing at Marina. "Hey, Marina. I'm going to run downstairs really fast I...gotta go check on something. I'll be back here really soon." He said quickly, waving before he hurried towards the doors.

He took the elevator down, waving once more at Katie the Secretary as was studio tradition and walking out to the street. He looked up and down to find the octoling, and the moment he spotted him he started walking to him.

"-hey!" He said when he approached, trying to look as friendly as possible. He held his hand out for him. "My name's Sam, what's yours?"

The octoling kind of blinked, and looked down at his hands before he reached out to shake it. "Uh...I'm Tai." He said cautiously.

"It's nice to meet you, Tai!" Sam said quickly. "I uh...really like your playing."

"Oh! Thank you! Aren't you that guy who gave me the big tip the other day….?" He asked, tilting his head curiously. "That helped me so much…"

"Yeah, actually. I was walking home from the hospital with my friend." Sam said quickly, before glancing around the sidewalk. "...are you...do you have somewhere to go? It's getting cold out."

"Oh uuhh…." The octoling trailed off, and he looked away.

Sam's heart sank a little when he heard the octolings tone. He recognized it from well over a year and a half ago when he stood there looking up at Calamari explaining why he looked so rough, and that he didn't have a place to stay. That...shame and uncertainty.

His voice got soft as he spoke. "...if you don't, that's okay." He said, before extending his hand again. "...someone picked me up off the street once and helped me get on my feet. Let me do the same for you, please?"

The octoling blinked, and his eyes darted between his hand and his face. "...h….huh?" He squeaked.

"Come crash at my place…" Sam said. "You can get a shower and a hot meal. You look like you need one…"

The octoling just looked...shocked. "I-I...well if...if you're sure you're okay with it…"

"Yes! Absolutely. Come on, pack up your keyboard. I'll take you back to my place, alright?" Sam said quickly.

Tai nodded, and he stood up to pack up the little keyboard and the tin can by his feet. He quickly handed it to Sam. "Here! I-It's not much, but it's to say thank you at least."

"Ooohhhh...please don't worry about it, it's fine." He said quickly. "It's yours, you worked for it."

"...you're sure?"

"Yeah! I'm sure! Now, come on. Let's head home."


	23. If you give an Octoling a cookie

"Okay…" Sam muttered as he unlocked the front door to his old apartment. He pushed it open, and flipped on the light. "Sorry it's a little dusty. I've been pretty much living with my girlfriend, but I'm still paying rent here so...it's mine. The lease is a while off. You can definitely stay here as long as you don't trash the place and don't mind me coming in sometimes."

"Well it's...your place." Tai answered softly as he followed him inside. He couldn't help but look around the apartment with slight wonder. "I don't mind you coming in at all. Are you sure you're like….okay? With it…?"

"With you crashing here…? Yeah! It's no problem! I'll see if I can stock you back up with food and stuff too. I bet we could easily wear the same size clothes but...all that is at my girlfriends too so…"

"R-Right. It's okay! I'd hate for you to go so far out of your way for me." Tai said quickly, a look of clear anxiety on his face. "I...really don't know why you would or...why you _are_ doing that."

"I um...well…" Sam began, playing with the hem of his shirt. "I'm so...eager to help because _I_ was homeless for about 6 months after running away from my parents place. My girlfriend actually is the one that gave me a place to stay, and the guy that's basically my dad now gave me my job and….I'd probably be dead by now if they hadn't helped me to my feet so...I think that it's only right for me to pass it on, you know….?"

The Octoling nodded, although he still seemed unsure. "Well...I...I'm glad, I guess. Thank you."

Sam just smiled. "It's no problem!" He said, before glancing at his watch. "I really need to go back to the studio and pick up my girlfriend but uh...feel free to hang around. The TV works, there's a little food here...there's a bathroom and you can take a shower so...make yourself at home!" He said quickly. "I'll try and come back with some groceries, alright?"

The octoling nodded, going to set the few things he had on the kitchen table. "Yeah I….really appreciate it." He said again, looking back at Sam with a small smile.

"Yeah, yeah, no problem! I'll see you later!" Sam said as he headed out the door. He tried to shove the general worry that this octoling was gonna trash his apartment into the back of his mind.

He headed down the sidewalk, and back to the studio, keeping his head low against the wind. By the time he got back, he was shivering. He couldn't help but be glad Tai was out of this. He waved at Katie as he went to the elevator, and headed back up to the studio. He found Cal sitting back on the couch while Pearl and Marina did the hourly live show.

"Hey Sam, good to see you back." Cal said. "...where have you been?"

"Well uh…" Sam started as he sat down, leaning against her so that his head was against her shoulder. "...did you see that octoling on the corner with the keyboard?"

"Mhm." Cal hummed, resting her head against his.

"I kinda...picked him up and let him stay at my apartment." Sam admitted. "Cus he was homeless and stuff…"

Calamari immediately picked her head up to look down at him. She opened her mouth and closed it again, and did that a few times before sighing. "I don't think I can scold you because I literally did that with you. But are you _sure_ that's safe, Sam?"

"I mean...I'm definitely taking a risk but he seems alright. I'm willing to stick my neck out for him, and hope he doesn't turn around and kick me for it. That's what you did…"

"Well…" Calamari paused. "...yeah. That's a good point."

"I was kind of afraid you'd be like….mad." Sam said with a small smile.

"Nah. It's not like it's a _kid_ that needs to live with us or be like...a long term thing." Cal shrugged. "...if he were I think that would be a different story."

"I'll keep that in mind when I want to adopt an actual kid off the street." Sam muttered, moving to put an arm around her waist and scooting closer to her so he could be snuggled up to her as they waited for Pearl and Marina to finish up.

"...hey, actually, I have news." Calamari said, leaning down to smooch his forehead. "Zach invited us over to his place for thanksgiving again this year. He came by to ask while you were gone picking weird octolings up off the street."

"Oh my god Thanksgiving is in a few weeks isn't it?" He asked, closing his eyes. "...yeah I'm down. You wanna go?"

"Yeah, I'll go!" She said quickly. "...I still can't do like my own thanksgiving so...Zach is the next best thing, I think."

"...yeaaahh...maybe next year, right?" He asked, glancing up at her, only to see her smile back

"Yeah, I hope so." She whispered.

The two stayed sitting on the couch like that until Pearl and Marina's live show ended. Pearl immediately came over and squeezed her way in between the two of them while telling them to 'leave room for Squid Jesus'. Calamari rolled her eyes, and pretty soon after that decided it was time to head home. So, Sam helped her back outside so they could walk back to the apartment. Calamari seemed exhausted from the trip, and the first thing she did was stumble to her room to collapse on the bed.

"...you gonna take a nap?" Sam whispered, pulling some blankets back from the end of the bed to drape them over her.

"Yeah I think so." She muttered. "...you gonna nap with me?"

"Well...I need to get some groceries for Tai." He said, sitting on the edge of the bed besides her, reaching out to take her hand.

"...that his name? Tai?" Cal asked, glancing up at him with a sleepy look on her face.

"Yeah, Tai. I think I'm going to go pick him up and get some food and stuff for him. Is that alright?"

Cal nodded. "Yeah, I guess so. Don't take too long, though. You need a nap probably as bad as I do."

Sam just laughed softly, and leaned down to kiss her forehead. "I won't. I'll see you later, Cal." He said softly, before standing up from the bed and quietly leaving the room, closing the door behind him. He had that butterflies in his stomach feeling that Cal always left him with, and the feeling of general...security, thinking he might spend the rest of his life with her.

He finally just took a deep breath, and headed out the door. He ran by the apartment to pick up Tai, and they were off to the grocery store as Sam promised earlier.

Tai still seemed quiet, and as they walked through the grocery store Sam found himself glancing at the octoling. He stopped in the chip aisle to grab some squid pringles and glanced back at him. "...hey Tai? You alright?"

The octoling's wide eyes snapped right to him. "H-Huh? Y-Yeah! I'm okay!" He said quickly, looking around at all the food. He kind of acted like he'd never seen so much food before.

"Alright...see anything you want?" He asked, watching him scan the chip aisle before looking across at the cookies. He walked over to pick up a bag. "...are these cookies…?" He asked, sounding slightly puzzled.

"Oh yeah, those are cookies." Sam said, leaning on the cart a little. "...why?"

"Just uhhh…." He trailed off. "...hadn't seen them before…?"

Sam paused, and he blinked at the octoling a few times. "...you've never seen Cookies?"

"I mean...nah…" He said, putting it back up on the shelf.

"Wait, no put it in the cart! You've got to have some cookies!" Sam said quickly, motioning to the silver cart in front of him.

Tai sheepishly put them in, before going back to Sam's side. "...thanks." He said softly.

"...no problem." Sam said, staring to walk down the aisle. He had quite a few questions rolling around in his head after that, and he was trying to find a good way to ask them.

He finally took a deep breath and looked over. "...so um...you know not to be...awkward? Or mean? Or tacky or whatever but um...you're an...octoling, right? You're from underground…?"

The octoling kind of stopped in his tracks, and looked at Sam while blinking a few times. "...I mean…" He started, faltering a little. "Y...Yeah. I am from underground."

"Not that that's bad or anything!" Sam said quickly. "I'm not like...trying to call you out or anything. I just...my uh...other girlfriend she and her family do a lot of work down there and I remember her pointing out it's not exactly….pleasant. She said lots of people try and find a way up here when they can because there's like….brainwashing and no food and stuff."

The octoling bit his lip, and he looked everywhere but Sam. "...yeah." He said softly. "I'd agree, she's not lying, exactly. I don't know about the brainwashing but….when you live underground it's hard to grow food so there's issues with that and...you know. People try to run from poverty and illness..."

Sam watched him as he talked. "...so you were trying to get away from that?"

Tai just nodded, "Yeah. I had a chance to come up here for a better life and I did. Although...it wasn't...the _best_ up until now, because I was homeless up here too."

"...ahhh yeah...I've noticed so many octolings up here." Sam sighed. "...they always seem like they have somewhere to go but I guess not everyone is so lucky."

"Right. I guess I'm lucky now, though." Tai said with a weak smile.

Sam couldn't help but laugh as he picked up a few more things. "That's what I thought when Calamari picked me up off the streets, Zach too."

"..oh yeah, you said you were homeless too?" Tai asked as he picked up some things to look at the and decided if he wanted him.

"Yeah my parents were bad people and I got kicked out/ran away." He admitted. "It's um…."

"...sensitive?" Tai asked quietly, turning the corner and starting to follow Sam to the check out.

"...yeah. Yeah it is." Sam admitted. "...do we have everything? For at least a few weeks?"

Tai glanced down at the cart, and looked at all the food. Some things were normal food that was comforting to him that they ate underground, some things were new that he was rather excited to try. He finally nodded. "I think we're good!"

"Alriiiight. Let's get checked out." Sam said as he walked over to the self-checkout as the people with anxiety do. He didn't really feel like it was his place to ask anymore….deep questions so he kept it to small talk until they got to the apartment. He helped him put everything up, before sighing.

"I gotta get back to Calamari." He said as soon as everything was up. "...you think we're good?"

"Yeah, I think so." Tai answered, sitting down on the arm of the couch.

"Alright! I'll come by again tomorrow, just to make sure everything is alright. Hopefully you can come meet Calamari soon! And Marie!" Sam said quickly with a big smile. "...all my friends, really."

Tai nodded, smiling and laughing very softly. He looked….truly happy for the first time since Sam had picked him up. For the first time since he'd come to the surface, he felt kind of welcome. He felt happy.

The next few weeks seemed to fly by. Sam made sure that Tai got to meet all his friends so he had a friend group to fall back on. He was especially excited to meet Pearl and Marina, Marina especially. He said something about 'having heard of her from underground' and she looked slightly alarmed at that, but she quickly recovered and it seemed only Sam noticed.

He also met Zach, who was happy to give him a much lower level job just to get him on his feet. It wasn't long at all before Tai was settled into a new life with a job and a roof over his head, with food to eat and clothes on his back. In fact, by the time Thanksgiving rolled around everything seemed normal.

The day of Thanksgiving, everyone - including Tai - gathered at Zach's place. Zach, his wife and two daughters were there. Sam, Cal, Callie, Marie, Pearl, Marina, Tai and even Pepper, Sal and Shrimp were there since they didn't have families to be with. There were lots of people in the house, and lots of food. Sam found himself in need of some quiet, and some time to smoke so he sat out on the back porch looking up at the dark sky.

He was by himself for a while, until he heard the back door open and close and someone came and sat besides him on the stairs.

"What're you doing out here, Sam?"

He looked up at the sound of Pearl's voice, and saw her sitting besides him. "I'm just smoking." He answered with a shrug.

"God you smoke so much." Pearl joked, nudging him with her elbow. "You're gonna get cancer."

Sam kind of laughed. "I feel like if I get cancer, it's not the worst thing to happen to me. Anyways, what are you doing out here?"

"I just wanted to check on you." Pearl admitted with a shrug. "Make sure you're not like...upset. I'm not like….the best at...uhhhh...feelings? But usually I know that if someone is outside by themselves they might be a little upset and...might need someone so…"

"Oh, no! No, just needed to smoke." Sam said quickly. "But...since you are out here, can I talk to you about something?"

"Shoot." Pearl said, sitting back and looking back a thim.

"...wait. Where's Cal?" Sam asked quickly, looking back at the door.

"Uh...sitting in the living room with Pepper…." She answered as she narrowed her eyes. "...why?"

"She can't hear this."

"You're not about to like, talk shit about my cousin to me behind her back, right? Cus I'll kick your ass right here and right now and shove that cigarette right up your ass."

"Ohhhh my god." Sam leaned away from her as he looked at her with wide eyes. "No! You really think I would do that, Pearl?"

"Nah. But you can never be more careful and intimidating." She answered. "Okay, go on."

Sam sighed, looking out at the backyard. "I've been thinking a lot about Cal and our relationship. I _really_ love her and...I don't know how to say it." He had to pause, flicking ash off the cigarette in his hand. "You know how like...okay, I'm guessing you had this feeling with Marina but when you first started dating you got that like...butterfly feeling in your stomach, right?"

"Mmmmhmmmm. I still do." Pearl admitted, smirking.

"I do too! But like...over the past like..year, almost two years really, I have less of that and more of like…" He sighed.

"Is it like that weird safe feeling? Like you hug her or whatever and it's like….home?" Pearl suggested. "I get that with Marina."

"Right! Yes! Like...being with her is normal and it's right and it's….yeah, it's home. I want that to be that way the rest of my life so like…"

"...you wanna propose." Pearl followed with a growing grin. "Ohhhh this is better than shit talking. This is the opposite of shit talking."

"I know! I just need to...figure out...how. How should I propose? You're her cousin, got any ideas?"

Pearl hummed and she tapped her fingers on the deck of the porch. "...you know, she's always said that she wanted a proposal like on Christmas or Christmas Eve. We used to watch those cheesy ass Christmas movies on TV you know? That they run from like….July until December, for some reason. Guy proposes on Christmas and she was swooning over that so...do that."

"Ohhh yeah. Like a present! I could like...wrap the box and when she opens it, I could cask." Sam explained as he got an equally large grin on his face.

"Bingo. Think you can get a ring by Christmas though….?" Pearl asked.

"Oh, yeah. I've been saving up. I can go shopping tomorrow."

"Yessss. I'm so excited for you Sam!" Pearl said with a big smile on her face.

"Me too," Sam admitted, smiling right back at her.

 **A/N: Thanks so much for reading guys! I always appreciate it!**


	24. Merry Crisis!

"Sam! Are you ready to go yet?!" Calamari called as she stood by the door, leaning on the doorframe as she waited, scrolling through her phone.

"Yeah!" Sam called back as he grabbed the last few things he would need, shoving them into his pocket and pulling on his coat as he rushed down the hall and into the living room.

"Oh good, you take so long to get ready." Calamari muttered, before motioning to the lit up christmas tree in the corner of their little apartment. "You gotta pick a present so we can all open one at Zach's tonight."

"-Oh! Right! It's Christmas Eve, how can I forget?" Sam muttered, kneeling by the tree to pick up one of the presents underneath it with his name on it. He finally picked up a smaller one, and slipped it into his coat pocket. "Alright, I got mine. You pick one?" He asked Calamari as he stood again.

"Yeah!" Cal said, holding up a very small wrapped box. "I'll get this one out of the way."

Sam's heart skipped a beat when he saw the small box in her hand. He grinned widely. "That looks like a good one." He said as he went to the door and opened it up, grabbing the car keys off the hook. "Come on, let's go."

Calamari nodded, following him out the door and down the stairs of their apartment. Together they got in the car, and soon they were on their way to - you guessed it - Zach's for Christmas Eve. Sam was kind of excited about it. The last year was basically his first Christmas. They didn't really celebrate Christmas at his house, so Calamari did her best to make it a good one. Ever since then, he loved Christmas.

Zach opened the door once they knocked, greeting him in his obnoxious christmas sweater. "-Hey! You're here!" He said as he let them in. He quickly hugged Sam as tight as he could, and his two daughters rounded the corner to hug him as well, glad to see their 'Uncle Sam' as they came to call him. "Did you guys bring a gift?" He asked, and watched each of them pull their gift out of their pockets. Zach eyed Calamari's and grinned. "...ooohhhhhhh good. Good choice. Come on, go put it under the tree, everyone's in the living room, dinner will be ready soon!"

The two nodded, and they went to put theirs under the tree as Zach said before the others came to see him. "-hhheeeyyyy guys!" Pearl said as she came up, immediately hugging her cousin and then Sam. "Merry almost Christmas."

"I think it's called Christmas Eve, Pearl." Calamari muttered as she hugged her.

"Yeah well 'Merry Christmas Eve' just doesn't sound as good." She said as Marina came over to hug them both as well. When Pearl pulled away from her hug with Sam, she looked at him with a slightly raised eyebrow, silently asking if he was still going to pop the question tonight.

Sam just smiled back at her, and turned away to greet the others. Everyone who was at thanksgiving was there, even Tai. He'd settled into life there, and he was happily chatting with Marina. They sat down and chatted with everyone until dinner was ready, and they all gathered for that. It was a nice time, Sam was happy to be with friends and family. He tried so hard not to think about Olive at home, alone but...it was in the back of his mind, always.

After dinner everyone slowly moved to the living room. Calamari stood from her seat, stretching a little. She glanced down at Sam, watching him take a sip of his drink. He looked...distant. She reached down to play with his hair a little. "...you alright, Sam?" She whispered.

He quickly looked up at her, and gave her a very weak smile. "...aaahhhh…..yeah." He said, setting his drink down and moving to stand. "Just...thinking about some stuff." He admitted.

"...thinking about Olive?" Calamari asked as she took his hand.

"Yeah, that and a few other stuff." He sighed with a shrug.

"Well….how about we just open some presents. Take your mind off of it?" Calamari suggested, squeezing his hand. "Everyone's waiting, I think."

"—oh! Right! I'm sorry!" He squeaked. "I didn't mean to make everyone wait—" Sam said, moving to head for the door between the dining room and living room.

Calamari followed him, and together they sat down. Sam leaned up to her, resting his head on her shoulder.

"-Ugh, finally. What were you guys doing? Making out?" Callie asked with a smirk as she climbed down on the floor and scooted towards the tree. "We can finally do presents."

Marie reached out and nudged Callie with her foot. "Don't be rude. C'mon hand out the gifts!"

"Alright alright, where's the one you brought…." Callie muttered as she began to rifle through the gifts around the tree. Soon, everyone had the one gift they'd chosen to open on Christmas Eve. Callie clapped her hands. "Okay! Zach! You guys go first!" She said, referencing his entire family.

Zach laughed a little, and nodded. "Thank you Callie." He said, letting his two daughters open their gifts first. Everyone couldn't help but smile as they opened theirs, both of them now gleaming at two new toys. His wife opened hers - a very pretty necklace while he got some new piece of tech he'd been wanting. Everyone around the room took turns, and the closer they got to Calamari's gift the more Sam's heart started to beat hard against his ribcage.

Right after Pearl opened hers, she sat back against the couch with a wide and knowing grin. "...alright, Cal. Your turn!" She said.

Cal smiled a little, and picked up the small box from her lap. "...well. Alright." She said as she started to tear open the wrapping while Sam moved to sit on the edge of his seat.

Calamari found a small black box underneath all the pretty wrapping, and for a moment her eyes snapped up to Sam who sat besides her, watching her with excitement. Slowly, she opened it and inside was a beautiful silver ring. It wasn't too flashy, but...it was definitely what she recognized as an engagement ring.

She looked up with wide eyes at Sam, but found him on one knee in front of her with a nervous yet excited smile on his face. "Calamari…" He began. "...will you marry me?"

For once...Calamari was speechless. She bit her lip as a smile spread across her face. It took her a moment, but she eventually spoke. "..y-yes!" She said quickly. "Of c-course!"

Sam broke out in a gigantic grin. He let Calamari take the ring from the box before he reached out for it, and he placed it on her ring finger as the room burst into cheering. Pearl even slipped a 'Hell yeah!', earning her a glare from Zach.

As soon as he placed the ring on her finger, he moved to kiss her as he wrapped his arms around her waist. When he pulled away, he looked up at her with a wide, happy smile. "...I love you, Cal." He whispered.

"I love you too." Calamari answered, and as Sam hugged her she moved to rest her chin atop his head until he let go. The two got hugs from most everyone else, and quite a few congratulations as well as a few people saying "Finally!".

They moved on with the party and opened the other presents, although Sam stayed hand in hand with Calamari and everyone kept glancing at the new ring on her finger. As they went to leave, Zach caught them by the door. He hugged Calamari tightly, as well as Sam. "...congratulations, you two." He said softly. "I'm so...so... _so_ happy for you both."

"Thanks, Dad…" Sam said quietly, hugging him as tightly as he could. He stepped back, glancing up at Calamari with a big smile.

"If you guys need _any_ help paying for the wedding or anything like that…" Zach began as he walked them to the door. "Let me know. We can help you out."

"...awwww Zach…" Sam started, his heart melting a little. "That's so sweet…."

"Hopefully, my parents will pay for a lot of it considering we're rich as hell and I'm the bride." Calamari said with a small laugh. "...but that's so sweet of you Zach."

"...well. You guys are family. I just want to help." He said before sighing. "...I'll see you guys after the holidays. Merry Christmas you two, have a good night!"

"Merry Christmas!" They said in unison before they left, and went on the walk home, hand in hand.

Calamari woke the next morning snuggled up to Sam. She took a deep breath, and nuzzled his shoulder to try and wake him. "...Sam…" She whispered.

"..hmmmm…"

"Sam. Get up, it's Christmas." She answered, sitting up just enough to kiss his head. "...is Tai still coming over to open presents?"

"Oh yeah, he is…" Sam muttered as he reached over for his phone. "...I'll tell him he's up. Are you gonna make breakfast still…?"

"Absolutely." Calamari said as she leaned down to kiss his head just one more time before scooting to the edge of the bed to pull her brace over her leg and stood up on it. She shuffled to the kitchen, flipping lights on and going to wash her hands in the sink before she started up. She paused, noticing the feeling of an unfamiliar ring on her left finger and the glint of a stone. She looked down at the ring on her finger and smiled. How had she almost forgotten? She was engaged. Finally.

"...watcha looking at?"

Calamari jumped when she felt arms sneak around her waist, and she glanced back to see Sam peeking around her shoulder with a mischievous grin. "I don't know. This guy gave me a ring last night. Guess I'm engaged now."

"Wack. Is he a good guy?" Sam asked as he stepped back and leaned on the counter.

"Yeah, the best, actually." Calamari answered as she started washing her hands and went to start on breakfast. "...okay so...Tai is on his way?"

"Yep! On his way!"

"Cool, and then you said Callie and Marie are going to come over, right?" Calamari continued. "They're bringing some food."

"Yeah! Cuttlefish too, and Sara! They can't go out to their parents for Christmas and...it's Sara's first christmas without her family so…" Sam started, his voice faltering a little.

"Right…" Calamari paused, and then sighed. "I forgot about that….poor girl."

"...yeah...but it's alright!" Sam said quickly. "We'll make sure she has family for Christmas. All of us!"

Calamari couldn't help but smile as she worked on breakfast. Tai arrived a few minutes later, hugging them both with a big smile, and sitting down with them for pancakes smothered in maple syrup and butter. The author is so fucking hungry right now.

The moment that Cal was finished with hers, she stood up from the table. "Come on guys, we gotta open some presents." She said, sounding a little bit like a little kid. Sam stood and followed her, as well as Tai and he sat down in the floor to hand out the presents between the three of them. They each had quite a few from each other, and the present opening commenced.

The entire time, the young octoling Tai had a look of...wonder. He got some really nice items from both of them, some headphones, a newer phone, some music equipment. After he'd opened his last gift, he looked up at them both with wide eyes. "...y…you guys really just... _give_ each other things."

'...well, yeah." Calamari said as she looked over one of her presents with eyes full of excitement. "It's Christmas!"

"You guys didn't have a holiday like this underground…?" Sam asked, tilting his head.

"...n-no. We really didn't have um...holidays? That much?" Tai admitted, he still looked at the box in his hand with wonder.

"That's insane…" Sam said softly. "...well I'm glad you're here, though."

"...r-right." Tai said, giving him a small smile. There was however...something off about it. Sam tried hard not to think about it.

They spent a while playing around with their new toys and gadgets before the cuttlefish family got there. They exchanged a few gifts, and got to spend a little while with each other just playing board games and enjoying each other's company. Sam watched Tai the entire time and it seemed that he was only getting more and more anxious as the day passed.

Towards the end, when he was helping Marie clean something up in the kitchen he felt a tap on his shoulder. He looked back to see a rather shaken looking Tai. "...S-Sam?" He yelped. "...can I-I talk to you? I-In private?"

Sam glanced at Marie, before nodding. "O-Of course. I'll be back, Marie." He said, taking Tai's hand and leading him to his and Calamari's room, shoving a few things under the bed before sitting on it. "...what's going on?"

"U-Um….I-I…" Tai started, wringing his hands. "...I-I need help."

"...you need...help?" Sam asked with a clear frown. "What do you mean….?"

"I n-need help. B-But I can't tell you u-unless you _swear_ you're not going to hurt me." Tai said quickly, taking a step back from Sam.

Sam was starting to get alarmed, and he glanced around the room for one of the weapons that were always lying around the room thanks to Calamari. "...o-of course I'm not going to hurt you unless you're trying to hurt me, Tai." Sam said quickly. "I swear. What's going on?"

"I…" Tai glanced around before he finally spit it out. "I d-didn't run from underground. I-I wasn't homeless. I-I'm a spy. I was above ground to collect information for the army. Y-You picked me up and I-I knew you were known for dating Marie. A-Agent 2. She's infamous for being a problem s-so-"

"-you've been spying on us?" Sam asked quickly, his heart dropping into his stomach. " _Have you been using us?"_

"I-I was b-but I-I…" Tai took another step back, holding up his hands. "I'm asking for help because I want to stop. I want to run away. You guys are so nice. You extended a hand, you have...holidays and families and friends and...n-nothing is like that. Everyone is brainwashed to hell down there! The only people who can think for themselves down there are Octavio and his lackeys. _I don't want to go back I want to be here with a family and friends."_

Sam couldn't do anything but stare, which made Tai panic a little bit more. "...pl-please. I will literally do anything to convince you. I-I have my old military ID!" He said, reaching for a small wallet he kept on him, pulling out a small plastic card. Sam took it to look at it, and it was true it was in an unfamiliar language, but there was his picture. "...please." Tai whispered. "...please. I don't want to go back. Today made me realize that...h-help me.'

Sam blinked, and bit his lip. He glanced up at the door, before sighing. "...o...of course. I want to help you and I will...but you'll...you're going to have to prove yourself, Tai. I...I don't know how much trust I can have in you but...by god I'll try."

The octoling looked nothing but relieved. He fell to his knees in a dramatic display, and fell back so he could bury his face in his hands. "... _thank you."_ He choked through sobs, before looking up at Sam with wide eyes.

" _Thank you so much."_

 **A/N:** **Oohhh my god this took so long, and it's a little rushed. Sorry for the wait guys! I wanted to get this up by Christmas, and I did, but I needed a break thanks to the chaos of school and work.**

 **I hope you all have a nice holiday! Thanks for reading! 3**


	25. What's up with Callie and Sara?

**A/N: This really is a filler chapter, it's just a small background plot I've been dying to write for a while. Regularly scheduled good ol' Sam driven plot will be back next chapter!**

 **WARNING FOR HEAVILY IMPLIED SEX/HUMAN TRAFFICKING.**

"...so." Sara began as she and Callie walked down the dark and damp back alleys of inkopolis. "You still haven't told me what we're doing."

"I was afraid you'd turn back and wimp out on me if I told you." Callie answered with a grin, glancing at her from the side. "...it's a tough one."

"Oh really?" Sara asked. "...come on, you know I'm not wimp, Callie."

"I know you're not, but I don't wanna scare you off!" Callie answered quickly. She came to a metal backdoor that seemed beat up and dented in. She shifted a roller that stayed on her shoulders.

"You won't scare me off, Callie. Come on." Sara said with slight annoyance. "...we're obviously here."

"Yeah we are. This should actually be easy." She said, moving to place her roller on the ground and lean on it. "Three boys. Luke Crowley, Connor Rothwell, and Jeremy Steele. They've been harassing women and octlings around the square because they're pieces of shit soooo...we're gonna take care of them."

Sara glanced at Callie, then at the door. "...no offense but...isn't this somewhat close to like...vigilante justice?"

"Yeah, honestly, but the squid beak splatoon deal in all things octoling so...we're gonna take it upon ourselves to deal with this one. Hopefully we can scare them off messing with people. Plus...they hate women. Isn't it just the best to let two lesbians kick their ass?" Callie said with a big grin.

Sara tilted her head around as she thought about the idea before she gave a firm nod. "...you're right. So do you have a game plan?"

"Really that we just bust in there and scare the shit out of them. I really don't think they're going to be much of a threat, you know?" Callie explained, rolling her roller along the ground just a little out of boredom. She was ready to get in there. "I'll bust the door down."

"Gotcha. Go for it." Sara said as she stepped back and readied her weapon. She watched as Callie stepped back, before picking up her roller and charging the door.

The already beat up door was easily knocked off of it's hinges and went flying into the backroom of what might have been an old studio. It was loud as hell, and both of the girls didn't doubt that if the three boys were in there, they'd heard it.

Callie stepped inside first as Sara followed with her weapon ready to fire. The backroom they'd stepped into seemed to be mostly empty. There was a table, and a box with some throw away needles and bags that made Sara wrinkle her nose. "...so that's what we're dealing with."

"I'm not surprised." Callie muttered before she paused. Her eyes snapped to the door at the other end of the room and put a finger to her mouth.

Within seconds of her doing this, the door began to open. A short and young looking boy with his tentacles up in a ponytail appeared while carrying a small weapon in his hand. As soon as he saw the two girls there, his eyes widened. "-BOSS WE GOT TROUBLE!"

Sara wasted no time aiming a heroshot at the boy and firing. She watched ink hit his shoulder and chest with enough force to knock him back and make him drop his weapon in shock. There was the frantic scooting of chairs and scraping of weapons being picked up as the two other boys came to the aid of the third.

The lead inkling was of average height, and donned the ever popular ponytail with bangs style. His base color seemed to be a light yellow - almost blonde. He pushed the other one out of the way. "How the hell did you two get in here?!"

"Your back door kinda sucks." Callie said as she lifted her roller and grinned as she brought it back down, spraying the three of them with ink while Sara fired once more.

The three scrambled back, the first one holding his shoulder with the opposite hand. They were forced to scatter as Callie came at them with the roller. The leader growled as he turned to shoot at Callie. "Let's just get out of here!" He yelled at the other two. "Run for the door!"

"-Luke, What about the-" The second one started, looking at Luke with wide eyes.

"Forget her! We can't fight these two in such a small space, Let's just go!" He said, throwing a glare at Callie as he and the others scrambled for the door.

Callie chased them with her roller. "-we'll be waiting for you here!" She yelled with a grin. She knew it sounded cheesy, but it was a legitimate warning. If they came back, they'd fuck them up.

Callie stopped chasing them once they were out the door, and just leaned on the handle of her roller with a sigh. "...well. That was easy." She said matter-of-factly.

"Yeah, it really was." Sara answered her as she looked around the now empty rundown studio. "...I can't believe they were living out here."

"I know. I couldn't stand to live in a place like this!" Callie answered as she turned to face Sara. "...well, should we hang around to make sure they don't come back?"

"Actually…" Sara began, but trailed off. Her eyes scanned the room for another door. "...did you hear what he said?"

"What did he say?" Callie asked with a raised eyebrow.

"When the leader guy, Luke or whatever his name is, told the others to run one of the others asked 'What about the-' and he cut him off." Sara explained. "...what was he talking about?"

Callie paused as if she was thinking about it as her own eyes scanned the room. "...I don't know. Could be anything. He started it with 'the' so it's probably just some object. Could be drugs. That stuff aint cheap."

"...right. Maybe we should do a quick search though, just in case." Sara suggested as she started to move around the room.

"Alright, alright. You're probably not wrong there." Callie said as she too began to move around the room. The two of them spent a while rifling through shelves and dusty drawers. Callie coughed a little as she pulled a desk drawer out but she made herself stop when she spotted something shiny inside. "-oh!" She squeaked. "A key!"

"A key? To where?" Sara asked as she looked up across the room. There was, of course, the door that the three boys had come in but there was another door at the other corner. "...maybe this one?"

"No harm in trying." Callie said with a shrug. She walked across the room to the door. She first checked to see if the door was actually locked before trying the key. To both of their surprise the key worked. She turned the doorknob with wide eyes as she pushed the door open, and peered inside.

It was a tiny, barren room. There was a low table with a dimly lit lamp on it, and besides that was a dirty and beat up mattress just sitting on the floor. On the mattress was sitting an inkling. She was sitting against the wall with her knees up to her chest. She wore nothing but a dirty tank top and some shorts. She didn't even seem to have shoes.

For just a moment, Callie's heart stopped. She was terrified that what she was looking at was not a living inkling, but a corpse. However in some ways, she wished she had just found a corpse since her heart sank into her stomach like a stone when the girl's head snapped up to look at them with wide and very terrified eyes.

Immediately Callie ripped her hands from her weapon, letting it fall on the ground behind her as she held her hands up. "-ohhhh my god, h-hey!" She said quickly. "U-Um...we're not here to hurt you. At all. Okay?"

The inkling continued to stare at her with wide eyes, pressing her back into the wall. She looked around Callie, only seeing Sara behind her. "...wh….where's L-Luke? And Connor? And Jeremy?"

"We ran them off for being shit heads." Callie answered. She looked around the conditions of the room. "We were just coming to run them off, we didn't know you were back here. U-Um…."

"...th-they left me?" The girl asked. She looked...in awe.

"Yeah, um...hey, what's your name?" Callie asked. She didn't want to step forwards just yet.

"U-Uh…." Her voice faltered a little. She looked like she had to think about it. "...B-Boo. My name's Boo."

"Boo. That's really cute!" Callie said quickly. "Okay, Boo. I'm going to assume...by...like your clothes and how the door was locked and how you're sitting on a mattress in the floor in a tiny room with no windows that you uhhh...aren't here because you want to be. So...can we help you?"

"H-help me leave?" She asked, perking up a little. "I-I...g-god...y-yeah, please."

"O-Okay! First of all, this is Sara. She's my girlfriend, she's just helping me out. She's cool, alright? And my name's Callie!" She said quickly. She moved to take her magenta jacket off. "...can I give this to you? To cover up? It's cold out."

Boo nodded, and she held her hand out to take the jacket and pull it on. It was entirely too big for her, but it was warm and she had to admit it smelled nice. Like coffee mixed with some light perfume.

"Alright. Uuuuhhh….fuck. I don't have shoes…" Callie started, glancing at her bare feet.

"I'll carry her, Callie. If that's okay with you, of course." Sara said quickly, looking to Boo.

"...that's fine." Boo said. She slowly started to get to her feet, and Sara moved over to pick her up bridal style. "Alright. Back to the squid-mobile." Sara muttered, looking to Callie with a nod.

"Back to the squid-mobile!" Callie cheered, taking Sara's weapon from her hands so she could more easily carry Boo. The three of them walked out of the building, and Sara did her best to hold Boo close to keep her warm and safe while Callie walked ahead of them.

Callie grabbed her phone, and sifted through her contacts to find Marie's name. She waited impatiently for her sister to answer, before finally getting a slightly annoyed. "What?"

"Hey pissy pants, sorry to interrupt...whatever you and Sam are doing. I've got something more important." Callie said.

"Did the mission go bad?"

"Well, no it was generally successful but we found ummm….a whole other person."

Marie paused. Callie could practically hear her blinking. "...a whole other person."

"Yeah like a whole ass person." Callie lowered her voice. "...a girl. They were keeping her locked up in the backroom."

There was a long moment of silence as Marie took in what her cousin had just said. When she finally spoke, she spoke with what Callie recognized as clear disgust and anger in her voice. "...those pieces of shit. I'm at Calamari's place with Sam and Cal. Bring the girl here. Does she need anything?"

"Uhhh…" Callie looked back at Boo. "...better clothes. Probably a warm meal. She's gonna have to see a doctor…"

"Of course. We'll handle the doctor tomorrow, it's kind of late now. But we can do the clothes and food. Hurry over." Marie said quickly. "Bye."

"Bye!" Callie answered. She shoved the phone in her pocket, and went to the car. She opened the back door so that Sara could help Boo into the backseat. "...you want someone to sit with you?"

"No I...I'll be okay." Boo said as she shifted around to get comfortable and put on a seatbelt with shaking hands.

"Alright," Sara said, closing the door and climbing in the passenger seat.

The drive home was quiet. Boo looked out her window with slight wonder, and it made Sara wonder just how long this poor girl had been locked in a back room. At the house, Sam, Calamari and Marie waited. Calamari was busy getting a meal together, and Marie had fished out some old clothes from Calamari's clothes that might fit her. Sam offered to let her take a shower, and when she said she would Marie gently placed some clothes in her hands.

"Go on, we'll have some food ready when you come back, alright?" She said quietly with the best smile she could manage.

Boo nodded, and disappeared down the hall to the bathroom. The moment the door closed, Marie and Sam both turned on Callie and Sara. "-she was _really_ just...locked up in a back room?" Sam asked. He didn't quite look horrified or shocked. This wasn't new to him. It really just made him look…..tired.

"Yeah, really." Callie answered. "...they just...had her for…"

Marie sighed. "...that's so…" She reached up to rub her face. "...okay. Did you kill the motherfuckers?"

"No, they ran off. If we had known about Boo we'd have killed them, though." Sara answered. "..but it doesn't matter. We need to figure out where she can stay and everything right now."

"Right…" Sam said quietly. "...Calamari and I still just have one room and a couch. Tai's apartment is small too, and I can't shove this on them."

"I mean...she could move in with us." Callie said. "Or…."

"She can stay with me." Sara said quickly. "I just got my apartment, there's an extra room. We're good."

"We can ask Boo when she gets out." Sam said with a nod. "...but we're not gonna let her go back there."

The others nodded, and from there it was just waiting. Even if they sat down to look at their phones, or read, or watch TV their minds were far from it. They felt….sick. There was dread. How common was what they'd run into?

When Boo got out of the shower they let her sit down and eat. She seemed happy to eat something that wasn't junk just tossed aside for her from whatever the boys were eating. They talked to her about where she would stay, and when she decided to stay with Sara they headed back home.

They were glad that they'd saved her from the boys, but...they felt sick that it ever happened.


	26. Great googly moogly it's all gone woogly

It had been a few weeks since the proposal. Everyone was settling into a brand new year with new ambitions and goals. For Sam and Calamari they had two goals in mind, get married and move into an actual house. Calamari was planning to ask for a tiny amount of help on both of those things from her parents while she was visiting them that week, leaving Sam behind to work. He had to run concerts and news shows and interviews, but he swore he'd stop everything to answer a call from Calamari when her parents demanded to talk to her new fiance.

However, for now he sat around the apartment with Tai. He was sitting on the floor with his back up against the couch and his head resting against the cushion, lazily scrolling through house listings around them. He kind of hummed when he found one he liked, and picked his phone up to show it to the octoling. "What do you think about this one?"

Tai leaned in to look at the house. It was fairly large, at least two stories. It kind of looked like your typical family home. "...that looks nice!" He said finally. "It looks like the kind of house you raise kids in, in a movie."

"Well, that's the goal, I think." Sam said as he took his phone back. "...maybe. I don't know."

"Aren't you guys getting married?" Tai asked as he reached down to grab some chips from the shared bag they were using. "Aren't you supposed to know that?"

"...Well...yeah. Good point." Sam said with a shrug. "I guess that's something we should talk about. I mean...I'm pretty sure Calamari wants kids."

"...kids are a lot." Tai said quietly, eyeing Sam quietly. His eyes held a glint of worry.

"I know, but I grew up practically raising my little sisters." Sam answered as he locked his phone and sunk into the floor a little more, sleepy eyes watching the TV. "...I think I'm alright with kids."

"Have you ever seen Calamari with kids?" Tai asked him as he glanced over.

Sam had to stop and think about that. He furrowed his brows and frowned a little, and after a moment he opened his mouth to speak. However, he was stopped when he heard a soft thump in another room. Both of them looked towards Sam and Cal's bedroom.

"...uhhhh…" Tai started. "...what was that?"

"Something must have fallen over." Sam muttered as he got to his feet, shuffling across the room and down the hall to his and Cal's room. He reached out and pushed the door open to look for the fallen object, but he didn't find a fallen object. He found two octolings, each armed with an octoshot and armored, staring at him through darkened goggles with a shining red eye.

His body moved before he even thought, quick reflexes from his days living with his parents coming back to life. He backed out of the room, and dashed down the hall back to the living room. He ran towards the corner of the room where Calamari still worked on weapons when she could, grabbing a set of dualies and praying to god above they worked. He didn't even have time to warn Tai before the Octolings were in the room.

Tai threw his laptop from his lap and scrambled to jump over the couch and duck behind it as shots were fired right at him. He watched as ink hit the wall and began to slide down towards the carpet as footsteps came closer to him.

"-HEY!" Sam's yelling drew the attention of everyone in the room and Tai's heart sank into his stomach. No no no, Sam didn't need to get in the middle of this, he didn't need to get killed for him. He scrambled to the edge of the couch, looking around the corner at Sam only to see one of the octolings raise their weapon to shoot at him.

Tai heard Ink hit the wall, and the table crash as Sam hit it in an attempt to dodge the Octoling, but Tai didn't have time to help him. The second Octoling had jumped over the couch and was very quickly moving towards him . He got to his feet, but ducked and ran for the octoling to tackle her at the waist. The two skidded across the carpet towards the kitchen entrance, and the octoling's weapon found itself far from its owner leaving the two in a wrestling match.

Tai tried to grab the octolings hands and pin them to the floor, but she was quick to push him up and off of her so she could pin him instead. Neither of them had noticed that the rapid firing of the other two's weapons had ceased. Not until the octoling felt someone grab her head and slam it hard against the counter they were fighting besides.

Tai watched the octoling slump to the floor, and he looked up with wide eyes at Sam who stood over him with only one dualie in his hand. He had ink-like blood on his clothes from the other Octoling, and now blood was running down the counter and pooling around the octoling's head.

Sam breathed heavy, his eyes just as wide as Tai's. The dualie dropped from his hand as he looked to Tai. "-a-are you okay?" He asked quickly.

"Y-Yeah I-I'm not hurt." He answered with a shaky voice, feeling his torso as if to check for wounds. "A-Are you hurt?"

"No, not much." Sam answered as his eyes moved from the octoling on the kitchen floor to the octoling in the living room. "U-Um…"

"They were after me, they had to be." Tai said quickly. He reached out for the girl besides him. "D-Did you...did you kill them?"

"I…" Sam watched as Tai felt for a pulse on the girl, but couldn't find none. "I had t-to. They were going to kill _you_."

"...but what do we do…?" Tai asked quietly, looking a little lost. "W-We have two bodies now and…"

"I...okay. I don't know but...hang on." Sam turned on his heel and went to the couch to scoop his phone up. He called the first person he thought would know anything about hiding bodies; Marie.

"Sam?" Marie asked as she picked up. "This isn't like uh, a great time-"

"It's not for me either. Two octolings attacked us at the apartment, I-I...I killed them. I have two bodies now a-and...I don't know what the hell to do!" Sam said quickly. There was a long moment of silence before he squeaked. "M-Marie?"

"Callie is missing. I have to go to the canyon to look for her, we'll dump your bodies there. Two more dead octolings down there isn't going to surprise anyone. Just use sheets to wrap them up and I'll be there in an hour, when the sun goes down."

Sam sighed with relief when he realized Marie knew what to do. "R-Right…" He said. "...we'll do that."

Marie hung up, leaving Sam and Tai to their duties. They moved the bodies to the kitchen where the blood could be easily mopped up, and they wrapped the bodies up as Marie had instructed. The entire time they worked, Sam tried hard not to let his hands shake or panic overtake him. When Marie got there, they made sure no one they could see was watching and hauled the bodies out to her car before they headed down the road to where they could get to Octo Valley.

The silence of the car seemed to draw the panic out of Sam. He let his hands shake, and his breath come quick until Marie glanced over. "...Sam." She started.

"-I killed two people."

"Sam you killed two _octolings_ who were _trying to kill you."_ Marie said, gripping the steering wheel. Sam noticed even through his panic how stressed and panicked she looked. "Don't think about it too much. Just scrub the blood out of the carpet and move on."

Sam closed his eyes, choosing to take deep breaths to calm himself. He knew it was in self-defense and he refused to let himself panic when Marie probably needed him. When he opened his eyes again, he looked over at her. "...when was the last time you saw Callie?"

"It's been at least a week. I saw her when I left for my trip to see my parents. She was supposed to come in to visit yesterday and never showed up at the train station, so I came back here. She hasn't been to our place in a week either. She's just gone." Marie answered. As she talked, the bags under her eyes seemed all the more prominent.

"You think she's in the canyon…?" Sam asked curiously.

"I think the octarians have something to do with this. I just need to make sure DJ Octavio is still there." Marie explained as they came to the entrance; a small grate in the corner of the square. She leaned down to open the grate. "Come on, just dump the bodies they're dead and don't feel a damn thing."

Sam and Tai worked together to carry the bodies and per Marie's advice, let them fall down the grate into the Canyon before they followed. Together they landed on the platform where Capn' Cuttlefish's shack remained deserted and the snow globe that was supposed to keep DJ octavio in was shattered. The menace was nowhere in sight.

There was a short moment of silence as Marie looked from the empty shack to the shattered snowglobe. Her eyes were wide and full of dread. She moved to sit on a bench by the cabin, plopping down and burying her face in her hands. " _...fuck."_

Sam abandoned the bodies to come sit besides her, putting a hand on her back. "...so Octavio is gone…"

"My best guess is Callie got kidnapped by octarians." Marie said as she dropped her hands to her side, not even reacting when Sam took one and squeezed it tightly.

"...what do we do?" Sam asked quietly. "We've gotta have a game plan, to get her back. Because we _will_ get her back."

"Cuttlefish and Sara are off on another mission. I couldn't even reach Sara if I wanted to tell her her girlfriend's missing. It's just me…" Marie explained. "...I need another agent."

"How are you gonna get another agent?" Sam asked, only barely glancing at Tai and the bodies lying on the cold concrete.

"Just like gramps did the first one. Street recruitment, I guess." She sighed. "I need a disguise though. I think I have an old Kimono and some umbrella I bought at a costume shop."

"That sounds good. When are you going to start?" Sam asked. "...can I help?"

"Yeah, you can. I'm gonna start as soon as we dump these bodies though." She said as she stood. She walked over to the first body, and leaned down to grab it by the shoulders. "Get the feet. We'll toss her over the edge."

Together, they worked on tossing the bodies over the edge. Sam leaned over to watch the bodies fall hundreds of thousands of feet into the unknown below where they likely would never be found. Marie just turned her back and went back to the grate. She had a determined aura around her now, a goal she had to work towards.

She _would_ get her cousin back.

After dumping the two octoling's bodies they headed back home. Sam helped Marie get together a disguise - a crested Kimono with green motifs around the hems. Tabi socks with sandals, a familiar yet different hair piece. The final touch was a green umbrella.

"Well, I have to say, you look beautiful." Sam commented as he stood back to look her over.

"But will anyone _recognize_ me?" Marie asked as she scanned herself over in the mirror and grabbed a coat to pull over her Kimono.

"You're going to stick out like a sore thumb, but…" Sam paused, scratching his chin. "I don't think anyone will recognize you."

"Perfect. I'm going to look for someone in the square. Are you gonna come?" Marie asked as she grabbed the umbrella and twirled it slightly.

"Yeah, sure. Should I disguise…?" Sam asked.

"Maybe wear some sunglasses, but other than that…"

"Alright, I'll steal some of uh…" Sam's voice faltered. "...one of Callie's."

Marie silently nodded and headed for the door while Sam retrieved an old pair of sunglasses from Callie's room. He had to step over a few things in the floor and sift through the mess that was her dresser, but for once he didn't curse her. Thinking about her made him feel sick with worry. So instead, he slipped on a pair and quickly moved on.

Marie took him to the square, and she stood by the grate that lead down into Octo Canyon. Sam decided to sit next to her, on the concrete wall leading up to grizz co. With his hair up in it's normal bun, glasses over his eyes, linen shirt and shorts with sandals he seemed just like a normal inkling waiting for Grizzco to open for the day. It brought back memories.

The sun rose over the square and inklings of all ages shuffled into the square. Sam scanned all of their faces, just as Marie did. He was looking for someone that he thought would be just right to be an agent like Sara or Marie or Callie. Everyone that passed by seemed to ignore them. They might have stared a little at Marie's odd outfit, but otherwise no one said anything. Marie attempted to catch no one's attention, and no one tried to talk to her.

That is, until they saw their agent 4.

She was a short, particularly thin inkling. She had one long yellow tentacle to the right of her round face held in place with a headband. She wore sloppy looking clothes that might have been a little too big for her. She had a clueless yet curious look about her, but more than anything Sam noticed how her left arm just hung by her side. She didn't carry it like she did her right arm.

As she walked closer to Marie, Marie glanced back at Sam before simply disappearing through the grate just as the girl got close enough to speak to her. It left her blinking a little, and she leaned over to look through the grate. After a small 'huh', she followed.

Sam sat up quickly from his spot on the concrete wall, and hopped down to disappear from the square after making sure no one was watching. He came up through the grate into Octo Canyon, finding himself under a small tree and besides the shattered globe to his right. The girl who'd followed Marie stood just across from her, kind of looking at her with wonder. He walked over, taking his glasses off and resting them on top of his head like the cool kids do. "...uuuhhhh….hey." He said, looking between the two.

The girl looked at him, and for a moment her eyes lingered on his face with a look of vague recognition. Then it snapped into cheerfulness. She waved at him. "Hi!"

"What's your name?" Marie asked, twirling the umbrella on her shoulder a little as she thought.

The girl paused for an awkward amount of time, then she glanced down at her shirt. She eyed a yellow stain on her overly baggy shirt before seeming to decide on a name. "Cheese!" She said. "...you?"

"I'm Marie." Marie said as she closed the umbrella and rested it by her feet. "This is Sam. Listen, we're looking for someone to do some really important work for us. Do you know your way around a gun?"

Cheese quickly nodded as she fidgeted with her hands and shuffled her feet.

"Good. That's really the most of what you need. Look, the great zapfish is missing as well as my cousin Callie. We need you to go find them. You're going to have to fight some octarians and octolings, some octoweapons. Do you think you can do that?" Marie asked, while Sam looked at Marie like she was crazy.

Cheese seemed to think for a little bit before she nodded. "Yes!" She replied. "I can do!"

"Great!" Marie disappeared into the shack for a moment, only to bring out new clothes and a weapon. "...here, go change into this, it's going to be easier to fight in. And probably newer than what you have." She explained as she eyed Cheese's current clothes.

"Okay!" Cheese beamed, taking the clothes and going to change, leaving just Sam and Marie to wait.

"...so uh…." Sam started. "...that's your agent 4…? You think she's good for the job?"

"Yeah, I think so. I have a good feeling about her." Marie answered as she glanced back at the door. "...Gramps always said he followed his gut on picking Sara so...I'm trusting mine."

"Well…." Sam trailed off. "Alright. I hope it's a good choice…."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"...I don't know. I don't think she's bad for the job or anything but….I don't know…" Sam paused to look at the door to the shack. "...She's familiar. I don't know why, but I feel like I should know her."

"...like how? Who's she remind you of?" Marie asked with a frown, watching his expression closely.

"...She reminds me of my sister."

 **A/N:** **Thank you so so so much for reading! 3**


	27. Everybody knows shit's fucked

Sam was standing at the top of the stairs.

He looked down onto the bottom floor where he could look across the living room and into the kitchen. He saw Basil standing with her back to him. She was completely shirtless, and covered in blood, all of it coming from a deep cut on her left shoulder.

She rinsed blood off of a knife before placing it in the sink, and turning so that she was facing him. She looked up past the island counter, tired and pained eyes meeting his. He frantically motioned for her to come upstairs if their mother would allow it, and after Basil quickly glanced back into the living room she tiptoed as fast as she could across the floor and up the stairs.

"Hey hey hey-" Sam whispered as Basil hurried into his arms. He felt warm blood soaking the front of his shirt as he just hugged her. He pulled away after a moment to look closer at the cut on her shoulder. It was deep and gaping, cutting so far down into her shoulder that it made Sam a little nervous. If she couldn't use her arm, that was noticeable by teachers. That would cause trouble. He finally pulled away, taking her right hand to pull her towards the bathroom. "Come on, we're gonna clean it up okay?"

Basil barely nodded, sniffling. The two tiptoed across the floor, and Sam silently pulled her in the bathroom and closed the door with as little noise as possible. He gently nudged her to sit on the edge of the tub while he grabbed the only things he had to fix this: a washrag and some hot water.

He reached over to run hot water from the faucet, and soaked the rag. "Okay...I'm gonna clean you up. I'm gonna get all the blood off and clean up the wound but it's gonna hurt...you _can't_ scream or she might come back, okay?"

Basil nodded, clenching her right fist. "O-Okay…" She whimpered.

Sam told her to take a deep breath, before he got to work. As he cleaned up the wound, he could see how she clenched her jaw and held her breath so she didn't let out a sound. She'd gotten particularly good at it over the years. When he was finally done cleaning up all the blood he used a few other towels to try and wrap the cut up before he lead her back to her room. He gave her new clothes and helped her change into them, and changed his own shirt before laying down on the bed with her. All he could do to help her was comfort her, so he did.

It was a while before Basil spoke again. "...S-Sam?"

"Yeah, what's up?" He asked, glancing down at her then back up at the door to watch for Olive or their parents.

"...I can't move my arm." Basil whispered.

"It's probably just the shock, when the pain wears off you'll be able to move it again." He said quickly. "...don't worry too much about it."

"No Sam...I can't _feel_ it." She whispered once more, her voice shook.

Sam swallowed hard. "Don't worry about it. Don't worry." He said. "...I'm sure it will be okay."

Basil nodded, and moved to bury her face against his chest and close her eyes. Sam's eyes moved to look at his sister's arms, and worry began to fill his chest. What if their mother had done more damage than could ever be fixed? What if her arm was paralyzed? What was Sam supposed to do? He felt tears pricking his eyes as he moved to press his face against the top of Basil's head.

Then she leaned away, and she reached up her good arm to lightly smack his cheek.

Sam blinked at her. "...uhhhh….Basil?" He asked her with a puzzled look on his face.

She didn't say anything, instead she smacked his cheek again, but this time she started doing it over and over and over again until suddenly he opened his eyes and he wasn't in the room anymore. He was in Marie's room, laying in her bed and unfortunately his cheek was still being smacked.

He moved his head away, and he sat up so that he could see who was smacking his cheek through bleary eyes. Besides him he swore he saw his sister. "...B-Basil?" He whispered.

"Yeah?" She asked.

"Why'd you wake me up….?" He asked as he reached up to rub sleep from his eyes only to find his cheeks and eyes wet with tears.

"You were crying." She answered, pointing to the tears he was wiping away from his face.

"...oh. Don't worry about it." He said. His eyes cleared up, and he looked up at the girl standing besides the bed. He looked at the yellow tentacles hanging by her head, and quickly realized that he wasn't talking to Basil. "-oh, my god. Cheese, I called you Basil." He said quickly.

Cheese shrugged only one shoulder. "...yes. You okay?"

"I….y-yeah. I'm okay." Sam answered as he watched her drop her one shoulder. "...hey, can I ask you a question?"

Cheese nodded, watching him curiously.

"What's wrong with your arm?" Sam asked as he pointed to the arm she held slack.

She moved to pull her shirt down to show him a long scar on her shoulder, then she shrugged again. "Hurt."

"...hurt?" Sam asked. "Your shoulder got hurt? How?"

She shook her head, and Sam sighed. "...you don't know, huh? Well...that…" He trailed off. "...that happened before the accident."

Cheese just looked at him curiously, not saying anything.

"...okay, sorry I worried you." Sam said with a weak smile. "...where's Marie at?"

"Backyard!" Cheese said quickly, and held two fingers to her lips.

"Smoking. Okay, I'm g-gonna go see her, that okay?" Sam asked as he scooted to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Okay!" Cheese said, hurrying from the room to leave Sam to get up. However, he didn't move from the bed. Instead, he buried his face in his hands as his mind swirled. This girl Marie had picked up off the street, of all the inklings in the square... _she had picked up Basil._

...she wasn't even Basil now was she? She was someone else. She was Cheese. But the scar on her shoulder was Basil's. The way she looked at Sam, those were Basil's eyes. She even answered to the name.

But she was Cheese now.

He dug his nails into his head before he abruptly stood up. He grabbed a shirt off the dresser nearby, barely glancing at his own deep scars along his back and chest before he pulled it on. The last thing he looked at before leaving the room was the long scar from his eye to his lips.

He hurried through the hallway and to the back porch where he saw Marie leaning on the rail as she flicked a bit of ash from a cigarette in her hands. "...got one more?" Sam asked, his voice sounding croaky and shaky.

She grabbed one from the pack and handed it over to him as well as her lighter. "...morning, Sam." She muttered. "...what's going on?"

Sam didn't speak for a little bit. He focused on putting the cigarette between his lips and lighting it with shaking hands. He looked out at the grass, and the trees until they were warped and clouded with tears in his eyes.

Marie reached out to gently place a hand on his shoulder. "...another nightmare?" She asked quietly.

"M-More than that-" Sam choked out. He was trying so hard not to cry, it was a struggle to get words out and not just start sobbing. "B-Basil-"

"...Sam. Cry if you have to." Marie said as she placed an arm around his waist.

He was quick to turn and hug her, burying his face in her shoulder as he just cried. Frustration and guilt and terrible dread filled his chest until he'd stopped his sobbing. He pulled away from Marie just enough to look at her. "...y-you remember Basil, right? Me telling you and Calamari about Basil?"

"Yeah, little sister whose memory got wiped by respawn." Marie said with a nod.

"R-Right. Sh-She's been missing for the past year or two...but um…" He glanced back at the door. "...I-I think we found her."

Marie paused, blinking. "...you think Cheese is Basil? For sure?"

"She looks just like her. Her left arm, she can't use it well because of a wound on her shoulder that my mom gave her. I-I called her Basil on accident and she answered. She doesn't remember how she hurt her shoulder. I-It lines up!" Sam explained, taking his hands from Marie's waist to emphasize what he was saying.

Marie sighed, shuffling her feet on the deck. "...if you think so, then okay. Do you want to look into it? After we find Callie?"

"...right. C-Callie. We have to find Callie first."

Marie gave a firm nod. "I'm pretty sure we can find her pretty fast, though…"

He nodded, moving to hug her one more time before he pulled away completely. "...s-sorry for just...breaking down on you." He muttered as his cheeks went a little red.

"You're fine, we all have to break down sometimes." Marie muttered as she finished her own cigarette and snubbed it out in a nearby ashtray. "We should get to work though."

"Right. Let's kick some Octarian ass." Sam said as he took one more drag on a cigarette before snubbing out his own and turning to follow Marie into the house.

Sam stayed around at the shack as long as he could to watch Cheese go through level after level. He found himself clenching his fists and muttering things as Marie talked her through each one. He desperately wished he could be there and do it instead of her. He hated that he might have his little sister back only to find she was in danger again.

His phone buzzed as an alarm went off to tell him he had to head to work. He leaned over and kissed Marie goodbye. "...I'll see you later. Keep me updated, okay?

"Of course, see you later. Don't kill Pearl. All that stuff." Marie answered as she leaned back to kiss him back. "...love you."

"Love you too." He said as he grabbed his bag, and slipped out of the shack and walked over to the grate to head up to the city. No one noticed as he appeared through the grate at the square. He adjusted the bag on his shoulder and just crossed the square to get to the studio, waving to Katie at the receptionist desk before he took the elevator up to his office. He was surprised to find Pearl and Marina sitting outside of it looking like they'd gotten less sleep than he did. Pearl was asleep against Marina's shoulder, while the octoling lazily scrolled through her phone.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "...well...good morning."

Marina looked up at him with eyes that carried bags underneath them, and gave him a tired smile. "Hey Sam, sorry we're early. We came straight here…"

"Straight here from where?" He asked as he unlocked the door and pushed it open, motioning for them to follow him inside.

"Mount Nantai." She muttered as she nudged Pearl awake and stood up to follow. She just plopped down on a chair inside.

"What in the hell were you guys doing up on Mount Nantai?" Sam asked with a clearly puzzled expression.

"Well that's where we met, you know. We just went back up for fun…" Marina explained, watching Pearl shuffle in and sit down in the chair besides her and rub her eyes. "We found a radio though, someone lost way underground near Mount Nantai. We were helping them."

"Ohh…looks like me and you both got caught up in something." Sam muttered with a weak smile. "...think you can make it through today?"

"Yeah…" Muttered Pearl. "Of course."

"We just might record some stuff early and leave early though, we gotta get some sleep before we go back tonight." Marina said. "...if that's okay."

"Yeah, sure that's fine. You're going back…?" Sam asked as he scribbled down some notes on a pad that just read "to-do".

"Yeah. I think they're down in Octo Valley or something...it's an older guy named Cap'n Cuttlefish and I think they said….Agent 8? She's an octoling. She's trying to pass all these tests and get out of somewhere. It seems….really tough on her. She's resting up while we're at work so we can try again tonight…"

Sam nodded as Marina explained the situation. "...Cap'n Cuttlefish. That's Marie's grandpa. I wonder if she knows he's down there…" He paused. "...she's got enough on her hands right now…."

"Sounds like shit's fucked for everyone." Pearl muttered as she slumped in her chair.

"Yeah, but life moves on." Sam said finally. "Please hit up the makeup station before you go on air, we'll record some extra sessions and stuff in between the actual live segments so y'all can head out as early as possible and get some sleep. How's that?"

Pearl held up an okay sign and Marina nodded. "Sounds good, Sam." She said as she got up. "Come on Pearlie, we gotta head out."

"Aaaalllrriiiiiiight…" She muttered as she got up and shuffled out the door, leaving Sam in his office. He was alone for an hour, and spent most of it answering emails and listening to music on the classical station, until his phone buzzed a few times. He glanced over at it and beamed when he saw Calamari's name on the screen.

"Hey!" He grinned as he saw her face on the screen.

"You certainly seem happy to see me." Calamari's voice came through his headphones, and he couldn't help but relax.

"You're the best thing I've seen all day!"

"Sam it's like...nine. In the _morning."_ Calamari said with a smirk ."...bad day?"

"...there's just a lot going on. But...don't worry about it. How's vacay going?" Sam asked as he settled into his chair, playing with the wire on his headphones.

"Good! It's nice to be home, you know? Well….childhood home." She said, and glanced somewhere off camera. "Okay, actually, I talked to my parents and I'm actually calling so you can talk to them...you got time?"

"Oh yeah, that's fine! I'm just hanging out in my office until showtime." Sam said, looking at his picture in the upper corner of the make sure he looked half decent.

"Aaaallright, I'm handing you over then." Calamari said with a grin, and she reached out before the camera turned to where he could see two older inklings sitting at the same table Calamari was sitting at. A woman with light pink tentacles framing her face sat besides a rather plump man with white tentacles cut short.

"Okay Sam, this is my mom Nrran or Nan and this is my dad Banane, or just...Ban! Mom, dad meet Sam!" She said, peeking over just enough to be seen in the corner of the screen.

Sam smiled at them, and waved. "Hello! Nice to meet you two, finally."

"It's nice to meet you too, Samuel!" Ban said quickly with a large smile.

"Yes! Calamari's talked you up quite a bit." Nan said as she leaned in. She wore round glasses that reminded Sam of a librarian. "...what is it you do for a living Sam?"

"Oh! Uh, I help manage pop stars basically. I'm managing Off The Hook right now." Sam explained. "...I book shows, interviews, make sure they're not saying stupid stuff on squid twitter...handle publicity, etcetera."

"Oh, you're managing the _good_ popstars." Ban said with a grin. "I bet you make good money doing that, and it sounds like fun to boot."

"Dad, come on." Calamari muttered off camera.

Sam just smiled a little. "It is a lot of fun! I've traveled a bit and well...I can always go to concerts for free."

Ban laughed a little, and he got a little smile out of Nan. However, she was quick to ask the next question. "I know you live with our daughter, but...what do your parents do? Do they live around there?"

Sam stopped for a long moment, unsure of what to say. He was thankful when Calamari spoke up. "His...biological parents aren't really a part of his life anymore." She explained.

"Oh, I'm sorry Sam. I didn't know." Nan said quickly.

"Hey, no in-laws to deal with then." Ban elbowed her with a grin.

"...dad." Calamari muttered, and he yelped as Sam assumed Cal nudged his leg.

"No, it's alright." Sam said with a slightly shaky smile. "I do have a sort of adopted Dad, named Zach. He manages the place I work for. He's kind of my boss _and_ my dad."

"Oh I see! Was he a boss before he was a dad, or the other way around?" Ban asked.

"Boss before he was a dad." Sam admitted.

"Well that's very nice!" Ban said with a grin. "...you probably don't have any siblings then, do you?"

"Uhhh...not with me at this moment, no." Sam said, trying to put that as vaguely as possible. "She's still living with my biological parents."

"I see, sorry Sam." Ban said as his smile faded into a sympathetic one.

"It's alright! Really, don't worry." Sam said quickly.

"Well...I like him." Ban said, looking over at Nan.

Nan just nodded, giving Sam the ghost of a smile. "...have you guys talked about wedding details yet?"

"Not much yet, mom." Calamari spoke up. "We'll probably get married in November or December, though."

"Oh how nice!" Ban said. "Just let us know what you're planning and costs, so we can cover it!"

Sam's face lit up when he heard that. "-oh my god, really?!"

"Of course! It's customary, isn't it?" Ban said with a big grin. Even Nan seemed to be smiling.

"Well...thank you!" Sam said quickly. He opened his mouth to say something else, but his office door opened and he glanced back to see Pearl coming in.

"-Hey sam we gotta go, first recording is in like five minutes." She said before pausing. "Who you talking to?"

In his ear, Nan spoke up. "Is that Pearl?"

Sam unplugged his headphones and turned up the speaker before turning his chair so they could see Pearl in the background. She just grinned and walked over, leaning over Sam's shoulder. "Hey Aunt Nan! Uncle Ban! You guys meeting Sam?"

"Yes we are." Nan said with a bit more of a smile. "Good to see you too, dear. I wish you could have come up too."

"I know, but he keeps me busy." Pearl said as she poked Sam's cheek.

"-hey it's not just me-" Sam tried to get in.

"Well I hate to steal him from you but we kinda gotta go." Pearl said as she stood up.

"Oh, right. I do have to go. I'll text you Cal! And it was nice to meet you both!" Sam said quickly.

"Of course! You have a good day, Sam!" Ban said quickly and waved goodbye.

"You too! Bye!" Sam said as he hit the red button to hang up before letting his phone fall in his lap and sighing. "...okay, that's done."

"What do you think?" Pearl asked as she walked to the door, motioning for him to follow her.

"Her dad seems to like me, I don't know about her mom, though…." Sam muttered as he stood, leaving his headphones on the desk and closing his office door after he walked out.

"Oh, Aunt Nan's just like that. That's where Cal got her...dryness, I guess. If she didn't like you, you'd be on your own for the wedding." She said with a wink. "You're fine Sam.'

"...well. That's good I guess." He said. He followed Pearl into the studio, watching her jump up onto the stage and plop down in her chair. He couldn't help but wonder how many energy drinks she managed to chug between their first talk and this one. He just sat down, shooting Cal a text before watching Pearl and Marina do their normal song and dance, all three of them with their minds in totally different places.

 **A/N:** **Hello! This chapter was a bit scattered overall, but it's just one of those necessary chapters in the middle of chaos. As always, thanks for reading! 3**


	28. DJ Octavio gets gta 5 wasted

Sam arrived back in Octo Canyon just as the sun was setting that day. He carried food for Marie, Cheese and himself in both hands, and had to nudge open the door of the shack with his foot. "Hey you two…" He said as he saw them sitting besides each other. Marie was looking through her phone, and Cheese was glancing over her shoulder to watch.

"Hi Sam!" Cheese beamed as she waved her hands. "...food?"

"Yep, food!" He answered as he sat down on the floor of the shack with the bags. He started to fish through them to hand out food. "...how's it going? On the mission?"

"We're pretty far. We're resting up before Cheese kicks DJ Octavio's ass." Marie muttered as she took her food from him with a small thanks.

"...that was really fast." Sam said with a raised eyebrow, looking at Cheese.

"She's good at what she does." Marie nodded. "We got so much done yesterday, and then she did so much today…."

Sam watched Cheese, before he held out a hand for her to get a high five. She just grinned and slapped his hand as hard as she could. She seemed to get a lot of joy out of it. Sam shook his now tingling hand out a little before he asked. "...any news on Callie?"

"She's working with the Octarians." Marie muttered, not looking up at him.

Sam blinked. "...she's what?"

"She's working with the Octarians. We talked to her on the radio." Marie explained, her voice dripping with bitterness.

"Why on earth would she be working with the Octarians?" Sam asked, "...that doesn't make sense. That smells fishy."

"I know. We're working on it." Marie assured him as she nodded to Cheese. "...that's why were going after DJ Octavio tonight instead of waiting. I need to know what's happening to Callie. She wouldn't do this willingly."

"...right. As long as Cheese is up to it…?" Sam asked as he glanced at Cheese, getting a thumbs up from her as she shoveled food in her mouth. "Alright, then I'll stick around."

They each finished their food before Cheese headed out to the final level. Marie and Sam both watched eagerly from a screen as Cheese appeared in a large, circular arena. They watched her step forwards, using a launchpad to jump into the center.

There Marie saw what she recognized as DJ Octavio's floating DJ station. Standing on a smaller stage on top she saw a familiar figure that sent chills up her spine.

"...Wait is...is that…" Marie trailed off. "Callie?!"

The inkling turned, her arms crossed. "I told you to leave." She said. Her voice was monotone, and chilling. It didn't have the life that it used to.

"...Callie…" Marie trailed off. Sam looked from the screen to her, seeing the hurt written all over her face.

"Now you leave me no choice!" She yelled. "Prepare to be rocked!"

Marie leaned forwards, looking at her outfit. She skimmed over the shorts with leggings, and the top she wore and her eyes snapped to the shades she wore. "...Sam. She's hypnotized." She said before rushing to her feet as Callie called 'Hey, DJ!'

"Sh-She's what?" Sam squeaked.

"She's _hypnotized."_ Marie repeated. "She's gotta be! It's the glasses! That's why she's so monotone. So...not Callie."

"What are you going to do?" Sam asked, glancing at the screen. He heard Octavio's taunt 'I remixed Callie's Brain!' and watched Marie's eyes snap to the screen with a certain anger and determination lying behind them.

"I'm going over there!" She said as she rifled through a bag she brought with her, pulling out what Sam recognized as her old Squid Sisters' costume. "-Cheese, use his fists against him! I-I'll be there soon!"

Before Sam knew it, she had changed and was rushing out of the shack to leave him there with only the screen and no radio to even talk to them through. He could only watch the battle with clenched fists. He saw the talent that Marie had spoke of in Cheese. She dashed in and out of the ink, throwing Octavio's fists back against him. She held out until Marie arrived as promised.

It was hard to watch. His heart pounded as Marie shot the glasses off of Callie's face, and even as Cheese hopped off the grind rail to finish Octavio with the rainmaker. He was knocked out cold, and the screen he was watching went totally black. He was forced to make his way out of the dark shack to wait for them to return. It was about thirty minutes before Callie, Marie and Cheese landed by the shack with an unconscious Octavio. The first thing Sam did was run to hug Cheese. He scooped her up, holding her as close as he could. " _You're safe!"_

Cheese wiggled away so she could grin up at him. "Yes!"

Sam let her go and stood up straight. He looked to Callie and Marie and went to hug them both tightly. "I'm so glad you're okay, both of you." He said softly when he pulled away from Callie. She looked...distant, she had bags under eyes and she seemed just...hollow.

"I know, me too. But save the water works. Will you help me and Callie get this asshole back in the snow globe?" Marie asked.

"-oh! Yeah, I will." Sam answered. He leaned down to grab a part as did the others, and together they got him sealed away in the snow globe.

"...okay…." Marie said as she dusted her hands off. She looked up at Callie and Cheese both. "...I know you're both tired...you wanna just...head home?"

Callie shuffled her feet. "...can we please…?"

Marie nodded and held her hand out to her cousin. Callie took it, thankful for the comfort. As Sam started to follow, he felt a hand slip into his. He looked down and saw Cheese's hand in his own.

When they got home Sam and Marie made sure that both Callie and Cheese got some food, a shower, and got to bed. Both were exhausted and were soon fast asleep leaving Sam and Marie awake to deal with a few details.

"Okay…" Marie sighed as she sat down besides Sam. "Cheese."

"Cheese." Sam repeated with a nod, looking up at her with a nervous expression.

"What are we gonna do with Cheese? You think she's Basil...right?" Marie asked.

"I'm 95% sure of it."

"So do you want her to stay with you? Are you going to try to pursue custody? She's only fourteen. She's a child."

Sam sighed, looking down at his hands as he fidgeted with the hem of his shirt. "I don't know. First Calamari has to be okay with us having a child….right?"

Marie nodded. "Yeah. That's generally an important thing to talk about with your fiance."

"Right. Then the custody thing. If I try to get custody of Cheese, I'll have to get Olive. I'm afraid if they find out I'm trying to get custody, they'll kill her." Sam explained.

"But Sam...what are you going to do with Cheese? Keep her in secret? She has to go to a doctor. Go to school. You have to have custody for that. You couldn't take care of her with no custody."

"I know, but...Olive-"

"Sam." Marie snapped. "If you go to squid kid protective services and say 'Hey, my parents are abusing my sister and she needs to get out and I want custody but I'm afraid they'll kill her if they find out I'm pursuing custody.' They'll go get her before they have a chance to kill her." She paused to read his expression. "I know you're scared but you _have_ to do something now. You're cornered. You have to take risks and put up a fight."

Sam reached up to rub his face, and for a moment he looked up at the closed door where he knew Cheese was sleeping. "...let me...talk to Calamari first. She's coming home sometime tomorrow. I'll ask her then. Can Cheese stay with you until we work this out?"

"Of course. I don't mind her hanging around. What time does Calamari get back tomorrow?" Marie asked as she moved to lean against him, closing her eyes.

"I gotta go pick her up at the hospital kinda early." Sam sighed. "Like...6 or 7 AM early."

"You have to sleep on the couch then, you're gonna wake me up getting ready to drive out there." Marie muttered, smirking.

"Awwwwwww Marie." He muttered, moving to kiss her head. "...that's so mean."

"I need to catch up on some sleep, so don't awwww me." She muttered. She heard her phone buzz, and looked up to see who it was before sighing. "...you know, I haven't been able to get hold of Sara at all. Callie really wanted to see her, she asked if I'd text her…"

"-oh!" Sam's eyes widened as he remembered what Marina had said to him early that morning. "...Sara is with gramps, right?"

"Yeah, they're out on a mission." Marie said. "...I wonder if they just don't have signal."

"Well…" Sam reached up to rub the back of his neck. "...Marina told me this morning she and Pearl went up to Mount Nantai yesterday and found a radio. She made contact with Cap'n Cuttlefish there. It sounds like he didn't have Sara there, but he had….an agent 8, I think. They were lost underground. Something about tests."

Marie looked over at him with a slightly puzzled look. "...Agent 8?" She asked. "...he skipped like….4 whole agents." She watched Sam shrug and sighed. "...I'm sure he's alright. Let me know if they say anything...weird though."

"Of course. I'll keep you updated as they keep me updated." He said. "...well...you ready for bed?"

"Yeah, I think so." Marie answered as she got up from her spot on the couch and started to shuffle off towards their room with Sam in towe.

The next morning Sam got up early like he said to make the drive out to the airport to pick Calamari up. He stood by baggage claim as he looked over the heads of other busy inklings for the one he knew would tower over the others.

He finally spotted her head above the others. He hurried through the crowds, grabbing her only arm. "Cal!"

She turned her head, looking down at him through dark shades she usually kept on when she didn't feel like using an eyepatch or prosthetic eye. She broke out in a grin when she saw him. "Oh, hey Sam!" She said, leaning down to kiss him. "Good to see you."

"Good to see you too! You doing alright?" Sam asked as he pulled away, taking her hand in his.

"Yeah, I'm doing fine. Just a little tired, I guess." Calamari shrugged. She turned her eyes towards the lines of baggage going by to find hers, letting go of Sam's hand to grab it when she saw it before starting to walk towards the exit of the airport.. "...ready to sleep in my bed. In my apartment."

Sam kind of laughed. "...I've been staying with Marie since you were gone, so...I get that.I miss our bed too."

"You've been staying with Marie? Too scared to sleep in the apartment by yourself?" Calamari teased. She couldn't help but grin down at him.

"No no no!" Sam said quickly, waving his hands to emphasize his protests. "It's just that there's been...a lot going on. Like…a lot, a lot."

Together, they stepped out into the cold January air. Calamari glanced over at him with narrowed eyes. "...a lot, a lot?"

"...yeah." Sam answered as his shoulders slumped a little. "I think Marie and I are...out of the woods but Pearl and Marina just started."

"...just started _what?"_

Sam glanced around. "...the car's not far out. Let's just...get to the car."

Calamari narrowed her eyes at him, but she could take the hint that this was private and followed him out to his car. She threw her stuff in the back, and sat down in the passenger seat. She buckled up, and slid her glasses up to sit on the top of her head now that there weren't people around to get grossed out by the lack of eye.

"...okay." Sam began as he closed the door and got settled himself. He slowly explained how the Octolings attacked and how Sam had killed them both. He talked about how they found DJ Octavio missing as well as Callie, and picked up a new agent off the street named Cheese who managed to defeat DJ Octavio and get Callie back the night before.

Calamari listened to it all, watching his expressions the entire time. "...well...that is a lot." She admitted. "...but...everything is alright now….right?"

Sam tapped his fingers on the steering wheel as they car came to a stop."...I….no. It's...complicated. I need to ask you something, really important."

"...yeah?"

"I-I...well. Cheese she...she doesn't really...talk too well. She uses sentence fragments. When we asked her her name she just said "Cheese" after looking at a stain on her shirt. She's staying with Marie right now because she was totally homeless. She's around...14 now. She can't use her left arm very well because it got injured and she doesn't know how. Big scar across her shoulder." Sam explained before glancing at Calamari as he said the next part.

"...Basil was 11, almost 12 when I left. She should be 14 now. She lost everything when she went through respawn. She disappeared totally. My mom cut her across the shoulder so deep she couldn't use her arm anymore before I left. Cal...I think she's my little sister."

There was a long moment of almost suffocating silence in the car. Sam gripped the steering wheel until his knuckles went white until he pulled up to their apartment and into a parking space. "...so you want to take her in?" Calamari finally asked as Sam threw the car in park.

"...I want to adopt her. And I want to fight for custody for Olive too. I want them out of there." He said as he looked up at Calamari.

"-Okay. Hang on." Calamari said quickly. She took her seat belt off, turning towards him. "Sam. Cheese is 14. How old is Olive?"

"She's eleven now." Sam answered.

"That's two kids. Two. Kids. Under the age of 18. Still required to be in school. That you have to care for and feed and clothe and take to the doctor and make sure they get help for all the stuff their terrible parents have done to them." As Calamari named all these things, she tapped the fingers on her hand as if she was counting. "That's serious, Sam."

"I know it is!" He said quickly. "Look, I know it is. But they're my little sisters. They need a _home."_

"Yeah, they do need a home but Sam it _can't be here."_

Sam stared at her with a look of disbelief. "...what? Calamari-"

"-Sam I'm not going to argue with you on this. I'm saying no. Tai was one thing. He was old enough to get a job and support himself. We would be taking in two kids in our one bedroom apartment. We can't do it!"

"-Calamari, come on-"

"Sam I said no!" Calamari was quick to cut him off. She turned to get out of the car, shutting the door a little hard. She went to the back to get her stuff before walking to the door, not looking back at Sam.

He was quick to get out of the car and follow her. He unlocked the door so they could get out of the cold, and into a place where no one would hear the argument. He turned to her as soon as he shut the door. "You know how much my sisters mean to me, Calamari."

"Yeah, I do know that, but they're kids, Sam! Kids!" Cal dropped her stuff on the couch.

"You're acting like kids are these awful things, don't you want kids?" Sam asked. His hands shook as anger swelled up in his chest.

"Of course I want kids! Hell, we have to adopt kids! This...adopting thing is exactly what we'd have to do but I just think right now, it would be a struggle to adopt two kids don't you think?" Calamari asked him.

Sam paused, confusion overtaking the clear anger on his face. "...what?"

"I said it would be a struggle to adopt two kids right now." She repeated. "...don't you think?"

"No no no...no I mean...the middle part. We don't _have_ to adopt kids…" Sam said. "...right? We can have our own kids."

"No, I can't." Calamari answered. She felt her shoulders slump a little. "...we've talked about this, right?"

"You can't have kids? We've _never_ talked about this." Sam said, his eyes just seemed to be getting wider and wider.

"...you know...the whole Marfan syndrome thing?" She said, motioning to her own body. "...my heart is okay getting to my body as is but if you add a baby to that, it could kill me. I can get pregnant but...it could kill me. I can't risk it. I can't risk getting pregnant."

There was another long silence as Sam just….stared at her. When he finally spoke, it was quiet and shaky. "...Cal that's...I want to have a kid... _our_ kid when we got married I had no idea…"

Calamari pinched the bridge of her nose. "...yeah. We should have talked about that before we got engaged, huh?" She let out a long sigh. "I'm done with this, I'm taking a nap or something."

Sam's heart sank into his stomach as he watched her walk back to their room and shut the door. The realization that there was so much more to talk about before they got married hit him hard, and the realization that he might not get his sisters back hit him harder.

He turned and grabbed his keys, walking out the door and to the car. He knew he would probably get to work early, what would an hour earlier than normal matter? He needed to think. So he arrived at the office even before Katie got there and headed up to his office to get as much work and thinking done as he could before he had to deal with Pearl and Marina.


	29. Agent Eight

The work day crawled by for Sam. He glanced at his phone through the day, half hoping to see a text from Calamari, but all he got was radio silence all day. He knew she probably needed the time and space to think, but all he wanted to do was work this out.

When five rolled around that afternoon he got up from his desk and made his way to the breakroom to find Pearl and Marina getting ready to leave themselves. "Hey, guys, I'm heading out." He said quietly.

"Oh, alright. I think we're about to head out too…" Marina replied as she adjusted the bag on her shoulder. "We're heading up to Mount Nantai."

"Oh, yeah. How's that going…?" Sam asked. "...how's Agent Eight?"

Marina sighed, and gave Sam a tired smile. "...she's exhausted. The tests she's going through are...rough, you know? I feel bad for her."

Sam nodded, shuffling his feet. "...I really wish I could help her."

"Why don't you hike up to Nantai with us tonight?" Pearl said quickly. She pulled on a backpack. "We're going to change and eat some dinner then we'll go up. You could talk to her, and Cap'n Cuttlefish."

"Yeah! I'll translate for you! You're really good at encouraging people, anyways." Marina said quickly. "...I think she'd like you. She needs another friendly voice."

"Ah….well...maybe. I have to go talk to Calamari about some stuff and um...I don't know how that's gonna go." Sam said. He looked away from them both, desperate not to meet Pearl's eyes. "...I'll text you and let you know."

"That's fine!" Marina said quickly. "We have to eat and stuff anyways so...it's alright. We'll wait and see!"

"Alright. But hey, if I can't go, you should take Tai. He still speaks Octoling and he'd probably relate to her….if she's down there….she's a soldier, right?"

"I think she is, or used to be." Marina nodded. "...text him, and bring him with you if you come."

"Will do. Alright, I'm out. I'll see you later, and...good luck if I don't go." Sam said as he turned to walk out the door, hearing Pearl's 'Thank you!' as he left. The walk home was cold and almost suffocating. His stomach was in knots, and his heart ached. When he found himself at the front door he could only stare at it for a few moments, the keys in his hand.

...he wondered how Calamari was. He wondered if she'd talk to him at all about what happened this morning.

He finally took a deep breath, and unlocked the door. He stepped inside to the smell of food being cooked in the kitchen and rattling of pots and pans. He quietly placed his bag on the couch, and slipped his shoes off before hanging up his keys. He turned to peek into the kitchen, seeing Calamari standing there.

He slowly stepped into the kitchen ."...hey, Cal…" He said softly.

Calamari stopped what she was doing, and she trained her one eye on what she was cooking in front of her. Sam started to get a little nervous the longer it took her to reply. What was she going to do? Tell him to forget the wedding? Tell him they wouldn't work out? Tell him-

"I was wrong."

Calamari's voice ripped him from his thoughts, and he looked up at her and blinked. "...h...huh?" He squeaked.

Calamari reached out to turn the heat of the stove down before turning to him, placing her hand on the counter. "I was wrong. I thought about it a...a lot while you were at work. I don't have a sister...but...if I had lost Pearl when I was younger and...she showed up again and I had a chance to help her but you said no...I'd be devastated, Sam…"

Sam bit his lip, and he nodded silently.

"I...the reason I said no was just….just because I was….scared. I've never had a child, much less one who was 14 and...and mentally disabled. Or an 11 year old who has been through so much trauma. I've never been through custody battles or...anything like that and it's overwhelming as hell, you know? But I...I can't sit here and keep you from helping your sisters because of my fear. That's not fair. If I'm going to be your wife then I have to support you. All of the way. I have to trust you. I have to have your back, because you have mine. S-So...please. Let's get Cheese, and let's get Olive. We'll do this."

Sam stared at Calamari with nothing but shock. Slowly, his mouth opened to speak but no words came out. He found himself just reaching up to wipe tears from his eyes as his throat closed up.

"...oh, Sam." Calamari sighed as she walked over to pull him close to her. As she did, Sam leaned into her to press his face against her shoulder. His own shoulders started to shake as he started to cry. "I'm sorry I hurt you so bad. I never should have I...I'm sorry."

He pulled his face away, furiously wiping tears and snot from his face. "N-No I...I kind of overreacted too and...It's complicated. I-It's...complicated, but I'm sorry."

She nodded, and leaned back to grab a napkin to hand to him. "Here…" She said. "...we're both sorry. We'll know better, and we're going to get Cheese and Olive but...we should...probably talk about the other thing, too…"

"R-Right. Yeah we...we should." Sam nodded, wiping his face off before going to toss the napkin in the trash. He took a deep breath before asking, "...so you...you can't _be_ pregnant."

"I can _get_ pregnant." Calamari explained. "But it could kill me, so I _shouldn't_ get pregnant. Marfan Syndrome is what makes me really tall, right? My body overproduced the grow juice so everything is kind of stretched thin and my heart could struggle. If I get pregnant, it increases blood pressure and volume. The walls of my arteries are already kind of stretched thin from too much growth juice and so I could have what's called an Aortic Dissection. The Aorta just...tears open and blood leaks out, I could die, or the baby could die. Or both. It's...risky. I don't know if I'm willing to take that risk."

Sam nodded as he listened. "...that's...fair." He admitted. "...I don't know if I would take the risk either honestly. I um…" He paused to shuffle his feet and nervously play with the hem of his shirt. "...I really do want a...a biological kid. I think I've always dreamed about it since I was a kid. However...I think that...that you're more important. I'm kind of madly in love with you and I'd rather spend my life with you than anything or anyone else, you know? Plus...who knows, things change. Medicine changes. If I'm still with Marie, you know…"

"Yeah, I know." Calamari said with a small smile. "...I'm...I'm really glad you understand. I-I'm...I'm kind of...honored, you'd...well. Choose me."

Sam laughed a little. "Of _course_ I'd choose you, Cal." He admitted. He walked over to take her hand to squeeze it lightly. "...I love you."

She smiled, and leaned down to kiss his head. "...I love you too." She muttered. For a moment, she just rested her chin atop his head before sighing. "...Dinner is basically ready. Hungry?"

"Oh, god yeah. I didn't eat lunch." Sam muttered. "...Pearl and Maina have that concert coming up and they've been rehearsing some dance moves between shows plus I have all these details to work out and….ugh."

"Yeah, that sounds ugh." Calamari said as she pulled two plates down.

"Yeah. And...Oh! Oh shit, uhhh...I'm supposed to do something else tonight. Remember how I told you about how Pearl and Marina are going through some stuff?"

"Oh, yeah. Pearl told me already." Calamari said as she handed him the plate and went to get some food.

"...she did?"

"Yeah of course, she texts me all the time."

"...oh. Well, Marina asked if I would go up to Mount Nantai with them tonight. To talk to this new agent over the radio. I might bring Tai, do you mind if I go…?" Sam asked. "I really want to. You could probably go too, if you wanted."

"Nah, I don't really feel like a hike." She said. "...but I don't mind if you go. Should I wait up for you?"

"...probably not. They're always there all night, but I'll text you as much as I can!" Sam said quickly.

"Alright, that's fine." Calamari said with a nod. She took her plate and went to sit down at the table with her food. "...also, hey uhhh….when do you intend on getting Cheese…?"

"As soon as possible. I would seriously go pick her up tomorrow if you're okay with it. We can set her up on the couch...I'll take her to get some actual clothes and anything else she might need…"

"Yeah, that's alright. We should probably start to look at real houses sooner too…" She said. "...My parents said they don't mind paying for a good amount of the house if not all of it, and we just pay them back when we can, you know? They don't really care."

"...so we'll just owe a mortgage to your parents." Sam said as he sat down across from her.

"Yep! A lot safer than the bank." Calamari said with a smirk.

Sam was quiet for a little bit. He took the first few bites of his food before he sat back. "...how do they do that, Cal? Pay for our wedding and our house and stuff….I mean, I know they're _rich_. I knew they were that _rich._ But….how can they just…"

"...how can they just pay for everything? Without even batting an eye?" Calamari finished for him.

"Y-Yeah. That."

Calamari had to pause to think about it. "I think that they've been planning on this kind of stuff their whole lives. They...care for me a lot."

Sam nodded. "Sorry that's…" He trailed off, sounding shaky. "I don't know. It's amazing to me. That parents….care. They can love you and _want_ to love you. _Want_ to care for you. Don't...Don't hurt you."

"Your parents are shitheads and bad parents. Parents are supposed to do everything you just said and they failed." Calamari said with a firm nod.

"Well….I swear to God I'm gonna be the best parent I can for my sisters." Sam nodded, clenching the fist sitting in his lap. "They deserve it, you know? To have a good life."

Calamari couldn't help but smile at him, her own heart warming. "They do. I know you'll do great, Sam. I'll do anything to help."

"Well...two parents are better." Sam glanced up a ther with a slightly worried look.

Calamari paused. A look of worry settled into her eyes, but regardless she nodded. "...you're right. I'll do my best." Cal said. "I don't know how good of a parent I'll be, but…."

Sam just grinned. "-hey. Believe you me, you're better than _my_ parents now."

Calamari just laughed weakly. "Yeah...you're right."

Once dinner was finished Sam got changed into some half decent hiking clothes and drove over to get Tai. As the Octoling climbed in the car he smiled to Sam. "Hey, what's up?"

"Not much." Sam answered. "You ready for a hike?"

Tai laughed a little. "I think so. It's been a while since I had to do something like this."

"Did you have to do this alot? As a soldier?"

"The last big hike I did was when I was coming up here to spy. I climbed Mount Nantai, just like Marina."

"Oh. Well...you've got more experience than me." Sam admitted with a nervous laugh.

"It's fine, Sam. It's not that bad." Tai smiled to him. "...hey, you haven't told me what's up?"

"Oh. Right. So...Pearl and Marina found a radio on Nantai. They've been talking to an Octoling soldier that's underground." Sam watched Tai's face soften into empathy and familiarity. "She's trying to escape. She's going through all these tests. Pearl and Marina can explain better."

"Tests…" Tai muttered, messing with his hair a little as he thought. "...can I talk to her? Over the radio?"

"Yeah! That's why Pearl wanted us to come." Sam smiled.

The two of them soon pulled into a small parking lot at the base besides a trail. Sitting by the start was Pearl and Marina in their casual clothes. When Marina saw Tai her face lit up. She hurried over to take both of his hands. " _-Tai! You came!"_ She exclaimed in a language Pearl and Sam didn't understand " _It's so good to finally talk to you! I always see you around the studio but we never talk!"_

Tai looked overwhelmed, but also overjoyed. Hearing his own native language made him happy. " _I-It's good to meet you too! I-I love your music-"_ Tai said. " _And it's so good to hear Octoling again!"_

Marina just beamed at him, holding his hands as tight as she could. " _Thank you! It's good to talk in Octoling again too. I miss it!"_

"Okay, you two." Pearl spoke up. "...save the Octoling for Eight."

"R-Right! We should get going before we're totally in the dark." Marina nodded and glanced towards the setting sun.

"Yeah! Let's go!" Pearl pumped a fist in the air before starting up the trail so others would follow.

The hike took almost an hour. By the end of it Sam's legs felt a little like Jelly. They stood by a kind of cliff looking over a deep valley. Sam plopped down by the edge. "...damn, guys…"

Pearl plopped right by him and reached over to pat his back. "You're getting lazy, Sam." She muttered and reached over to poke his belly. "You're getting kinda chunky."

"Hey! Pearl!" Sam snapped. He slapped her hand away from his stomach. "I appreciate my tub, thank you very much. I used to be skin and bones."

Pearl faltered slightly. "Ah, you're right. Sorry. Anyways, Rina you got the radio?"

"Yep!" Marina smiled. She sat down besides them both, and dug out a small walke-talkie looking radio. She hit a button on the side and spoke. "Eight? Cap'n?"

There was a long moment of silence before the radio came to life. "Cap'n Cuttlefish and Eight here!" Came Cuttlefish's voice. "Good to hear from you!"

"Yeah! Good to hear from you too!" Marina answered. She looked a little relieved to hear their voices. "We brought some friends!"

"Oh? Who'd you bring?" Cuttlefish asked.

"We brought Sam, and Tai!"

"Ohhh…Samuel! Marie's boyfriend!" Cuttlefish said, making Sam blush. Pearl elbowed him right in the ribs. "Good to hear you're there, Sam. Who's Tai, though?"

"Oh! He's my friend. He used to be an octoling soldier and escaped." Sam explained. "...we thought Eight might appreciate talking to someone who was in a similar situation and...made it out alive."

There was a small hum from the captain. Sam couldn't decide if it was disapproval or not. "...alright." He said finally. "Does he want to talk to her?"

Sam looked up from the radio and up to Tai with a raised eyebrow. The octoling quickly nodded, and he held his hand out for the radio. When Marina handed it over, he held the radio up to his face and hit the button. "Y-Yeah, I want to talk to her."

"Alright, just hang on." Cuttlefish said. The radio went dead silent for a little bit before there was another crackle, and a quiet voice spoke to him.

" _Hello?"_

Tai's face lit up. He hit the button to speak once more with a slightly trembling hand. " _H-Hi! Agent Eight! My name's Tai! I-I'm a friend of Pearl and Marina's!"_

There was another long moment of silence, before he got a quiet reply. " _Nice to meet you, Tai. I'm….I-I'm Eight."_

Tai nodded, glancing at Marina slightly. " _Is uh...Is Eight your real name? Or is that just your agent number?"_

" _Uhhh…."_ Eight paused. " _It's my agent name. I don't know my real name anymore."_

Tai paused at that, " _...you don't remember your name?"_

" _I don't remember anything."_

Tai took his finger off the button and looked to Pearl and Marina with a look of alarm. "-did you both know that?" He asked in Inklish.

Marina sighed and nodded before motioning to the radio. "She can...explain more."

Tai pressed the button. " _Why don't you remember anything…?"_

" _I...don't know. Captain Cuttlefish says I was fighting an...Agent Three and we fell. But I keep getting these…"_ There was a long pause. " _...Mem Cakes from the tests. They help…"_

Tai nodded. " _What are the tests? Or….how are they?"_

" _I have to get through these tests and then get the four thangs, I think it called them…"_ Eight paused. " _...once I get those I can come to the promised land."_

" _...The promised land?"_ Tai blinked a little in confusion. He looked at Marina who just shrugged. " _I don't think me or Marina have heard of that…"_

" _It's the surface."_ Eight said. " _...y-you know….away from all of this. S….Safe."_

Tai felt his heart break just a little for her. " _Yeah... ? How hard are the tests, down there?"_

" _H-Hard."_ Eight admitted. She sounded shaky and tired as she said it. " _...I'm...tired and hungry. My back hurts really bad. When you fail a test the pack explodes and splats you. So that you'll start over."_

Tai visibly cringed. " _Damn...I-I'm really sorry, Eight."_ He whispered.

There was a long sigh from her. " _...it's not your fault. It's just….nice to talk to you…"_

Tai smiled, feeling a small blush cross his cheeks. " _I'm really, really glad I could help."_

Marina reached out for the radio back, taking it from Tai's hands as he handed it over. "Do you guys want to stick around for the tests?" She asked. "We'll be here all night but…"

Sam looked over at Tai with a raised eyebrow. "...it's up to you." He said quietly.

"...y-yeah, can we?" Tai asked. "...I-I um...want to stay and help her out, if I can."

"Then we'll do that!" Sam said quickly. He wiggled around to make sure he was comfortable while Marina clicked the radio to talk to Eight once more as they began another night of tests.

 **A/N:** **I** **'m so freakin' exctied that Eight is here! I love her character!**

 **As always, thanks for reading! Hopefully chapters will be a little steadier. I'm back in school, but I tend to write during class since doing two things helps me concentrate on the lecture. So. Hopefully at least weekly chapters, but no promises.**  
 **Anyways, thank you again! 3**


	30. Unfamiliar

Callie woke very late the day after being unhypnotized. Late day light shone through her curtains and made an already splitting headache worse. She gripped the left side of her face as she sat up and looked around at everything in the room. She saw a dresser with clothes spilling out, a small desk with piles of junk on it. She blinked at it, and looked at the bed she was in. She was underneath pink covers that she wasn't sure were hers.

...where….where was she?

She slowly got out of bed and stumbled to the door, then out into the hall. She heard voices down the hall that were...a little familiar. One was just comforting. So she followed it.

She stepped out into an open living room, shielding her eyes from the light. She saw two girls sitting there. One she knew was Marie, but she didn't know the child.

"-Oh, Callie, you're up." Marie quickly stood. She noticed the way that Callie gripped her face and the confused look in her eyes, and anxiety knotted up in her stomach. "...are you okay?"

"Wh...Where are we?" Callie asked as she looked around.

Marie's face fell a little. "...we're at home, Callie."

"H-Home…?" Callie asked as she looked around more. "We're...oh." Recognition seemed to click into her eyes. "O-Oh. Good. I-I...didn't recognize it."

"It's alright. Does your head hurt…?" Marie asked.

"It's killing me." Callie muttered, covering her eyes.

"Sit down." Marie guided her to a chair before looking to Cheese. "Go get some water, please."

"Yes!" Cheese replied as she got up and hurried to the kitchen.

"Hey, Callie, look at me." Marie said quickly as she knelt in front of her. Her cousin looked up at her, and Marie was relieved to see her face seemed fine and her eyes were okay. "Alright...you look okay...do you want to try and take some advil and drink some water? Or do we need to go to the hospital?"

Callie used both hands to grip her head. "I don't know…" She groaned. "I can't think."

Cheese came into the room, holding a glass of water. "Here!" She said as she handed it to Marie.

"Thank you." Marie said quietly as she put it into Callie's hands. "Here, Callie."

Callie took it, bringing it to her lips to take a few sips. She kept her eyes closed to shield them from the light. She tried to think about whether or not this would pass with medicine, or if she needed to go to the hospital.

"...Callie…" Marie started. "Hospital, or not?"

"I don't know!" Callie snapped. She opened her eyes just enough to put the glass down on the table. Her hand shook, and she almost missed the table. Marie had to rush to catch it and help her sit it down.

"...uhhh…Callie?" Marie started after that, watching her _very_ carefully. "Can you see alright?"

"Y-Yes, I just...I don't know-"

"Okay. Hospital. We're going to the hospital." Marie said quickly. "Can you get up and walk to the car?"

Callie nodded and she reached out for Marie's hands. As soon as she took them she pulled up and started slowly walking out to the car. Marie stuck by her side until she was in the passenger seat, then she pulled out her phone to call Sam as she went back for Cheese, motioning for her to come out to the car. She wasn't sure she wanted to leave her alone.

Sam's phone didn't even ring. A kind robot voice informed Marie that this number was temporarily unavailable. She frowned, and called Calamari next. She was relieved to hear the phone actually ring and then Calamari's voice. "Hello?"

"Oh, thank god." Marie muttered as she sat down in the driver's seat and started the car. "What's up with Sam's phone?"

"...huh?" Calamari paused. "Oh! He's with Pearl and Marina on Nantai. He doesn't have signal. Why?"

Marie sighed with a mix of relief and annoyance. Mainly annoyance. "I'm taking Callie to the hospital. Something's really wrong and I was kinda hoping Sam was around."

"Ah shit, sorry." Calamari frowned. 'I'll go with you if you want, if you can swing by and pick me up."

Marie felt some of the anxiety leave her chest at Calamari's offer. She desperately didn't want to do this alone. "That would be great, Cal…"

"Alright, I'll be outside, just come by here."

"I'll be there in a few." Marie said as she hung up. She pulled out of the driveway and started down the road towards Sam and Calamari's apartment. As promised, Calamari was waiting outside and hopped in the car besides Cheese.

"What's going on Callie?" She asked as she leaned forwards to look at her.

"Head hurts. Can't think." She muttered, still holding her head.

"She didn't know where she was, when she woke up." Marie added. She gripped the steering wheel until her knuckles were white.

"...okay. The hospital will help." Calamari said in an attempt to be comforting to Marie. Marie just nodded, keeping her eyes on the road.

When they got to the hospital the four of them were rushed back. Marie did her best to vaguely explain that they had an issue with 'prolonged hypnosis'. The nurse gave her a slightly weird look but otherwise nodded and disappeared. A doctor came in to speak with them before they took Callie away for tests, leaving Cheese, Calamari and Marie.

Marie fidgeted with various things. A wire hanging from the computer besides her, her shirt, she played around on her phone for a little bit. It seemed she couldn't concentrate on anything, her mind was too busy swirling with worry. She didn't stop until she heard Calamari's voice interrupt her thoughts.

"...Marie."

She glanced up at the inkling sitting besides her, meeting Calamari's normally piercing gray eyes and finding them soft with worry. "...yeah…?"

Calamari held her hand out so that Marie could take it if she wanted, and smiled a little when she did. She squeezed her hand tightly. "I think it's gonna be alright. No matter what it is...you can handle it."

Marie sighed, and she rested her head against the wall behind her as she rapidly blinked tears out of her eyes. "I just don't want to handle it." She explained, trying to keep her voice steady. "I hate that...she might be really hurt or sick because of what happened, and I don't want to deal with the aftermath. I want everything to be okay so life can go on. That's selfish I know-"

"I don't think it's selfish." Calamari said quickly. "...you literally just want things to be okay for a while. That's natural. That's alright."

Marie sighed, and she finally reached up to wipe tears away instead of trying to blink them away. "O-Of course I'm worried about Callie too. I don't want anything bad to happen to her, she's...she's my best friend. She's my cousin but she's a...a sister."

Calamari smiled a little. "...believe me, I know." She said softly. She took her hand away from Marie's only to hold her arm out for her. Marie was happy to scoot closer to her, just leaving over the arm of the chair so she could hug her and bury her head in her shoulder. It was nice to be the one being comforted, instead of being the one everyone seemed to lean on. It was kind of nice to just…..cry.

She stayed with Calamari for a while, even after she'd stopped crying. Cal didn't seem to mind, and she was nice to be snuggled up to, so Marie stayed. She could kind of see why Sam liked her so much.

She didn't pull away until the nurses rolled Callie's bed back into the room, and a doctor followed. Instead of the tall male doctor they saw earlier, they were met with a short, rather plump woman with her tentacles in a tight bun. She smiled, coming over to shake their hands. "Hello, I'm Dr. Branagh. I'm taking over for the doctor who was just in." She explained.

Calamari shook her hand and smiled weakly, but Marie kind of paused. "...Dr. Branagh...weren't you the doctor that handled Sam at the square…?"

The doctor paused. "...Sam?" She asked, narrowing her eyes. "-Oh! Samuel Osa, I think! I thought I recognized you two!"

Marie sighed with some relief. "...oh good, I thought I was going crazy. It's good to know we have a good doctor…although, what are you doing here?"

"Well, I had to move over here to work for this hospital. They definitely pay more." The doctor said with a small grin. "...buuttt...I just wanted to let you know what's going on with Miss Callie, here. Her blood tests came back looking normal. I'm pretty sure the scan will come back fine, but we'll of course run the tests anyways. We already started her on some pain medicine for her head, though."

Marie nodded, and she glanced at Calamari to take her hand and squeeze it tightly. "...alright, thank you doctor. "

The doctor nodded and stepped out of the room to leave them to wait. Marie's hand stayed in Calamari's and she stayed close to her. She leaned her head against Cal's shoulder, watching her scroll through her phone.

It wasn't until hours later the doctor came back to explain that her scan was clear. "It was likely a migraine. I'm going to send her to a neurologist, but otherwise there's not much I can do here. Do you feel alright taking her home…?"

"If you're sure it's just a migraine…then yeah, I think so." Marie nodded.

"Alright, I'm going to discharge her. The nurse will be back in a moment."

"Alright, thank you." Marie said and sighed as she watched her leave the room. She let her head fall on Calamari's shoulder again. Calamari glanced over at her, and once more took her hand. "Do you want me to come home with you….?"

"...no, I think I'll be alright." She said before picking her head up to look at her. "Thank you for coming with me. You….you really helped."

Calamari smiled softly. "It's no problem. I really don't mind."

"I'm glad. You know…" Marie paused. "I can see why Sam likes you so much."

Calamari raised an eyebrow at her, before she laughed softly. "I can see why he likes you too."

Marie felt one of those very rare blushes creep onto her cheeks, but before she could say anything the curtain to Callie's little ER room slid open and the nurse came in with the discharge papers. They pulled apart from each other with a slight blush and Cheese across the room giving them a questioning look. They just turned their attention to the nurse.

Calamari stayed with Marie until Callie was home and safe. She decided that it wouldn't be a bad idea to bring Cheese home now, that way Marie only had to worry about Callie. They packed up the very little stuff she had and Cheese carried it in her one working arm. Before she left, she hurried to hug Marie as hard as she could ."Bye, Marie." She said softly. "Miss you."

Marie smiled. "Miss me….? I'll see you all the time, Cheese." She whispered as she hugged her back.

Cheese nodded and pulled away from the hug. "...okay. Promise?"

"Promise." Marie said with a firm nod. "Now go home, get some sleep. It's pretty late."

Cheese glanced at the clock reading close to 2 AM, then turned to walk over to Calamari to take her hand. Calamari just smiled weakly - almost nervously, waved at Marie before they both headed out. Together, they slowly walked home. Calamari was somewhat surprised and relieved to see Sam's car in the apartment parking lot. She figured he had gone to bed since the apartment was dark and quiet when she came in.

"Okay, Sam is asleep." Calamari whispered. "You tired….?"

She watched Cheese nod. "Alright, put your stuff by the couch. I'm gonna get you some blankets and some pillows and you can go to bed."

"Okay…" Cheese whispered back, setting her things by the couch like Calamari said and sitting on the arm. When Calamari came back with some fluffy blankets and pillows she started to clap her hands but paused to think better of it and clapped softly. "Thank you!" She whispered as she took them from Calamari. She moved to the couch and started to make herself a Cheese nest. "Goodnight!"

Calamari raised an eyebrow before she laughed and headed to her and Sam's room. "Goodnight…"

She stepped into the room, very quietly closing the door behind her and making sure it was open at least a little for Cheese. She saw Sam's figure in bed and smiled very softly. It was somehow...comforting to know he was there.

She changed into shorts and a tank top, sat on the edge of the bed to take her brace off before settling into bed. The last thing she did before she let her head hit the pillow was lean over to kiss Sam's head and whisper to him.

"Goodnight, I love you."

 **A/N:** **As always, thank you so much for reading! 3**


	31. MY SISTER IS MY SISTER? (NOT CLICKBAIT)

Sam was more than a little shocked to wake up and find Cheese on his couch. He did wake Calamari up to quietly whisper "He Cal, what the fuck?" However, after she explained he just kind of smiled and looked a little relieved. He was happy to have his sister there where he could take care of her and see her again.

Right after that they got in contact with a lawyer. It was a woman who'd worked for the Umeno/Houzuki family for a while. She was named Minty and quite...eccentric. She wanted to make sure Cheese was related to Sam so they waited on that. For now, life continued.

It was after a few weeks Sam found himself rushing around the apartment making sure that both he and Cheese were ready to go. They had to do some clothes shopping. "Cheese!" Sam called as he walked into the kitchen. "Get your shoes on!"

"Okay!" Cheese called back, and Sam heard her hurry down the hall to find some socks.

Sam turned to the other person in the kitchen - Calamari. He wrapped his arms around her waist, burying his face against her back. "...what are you doing today?" He asked.

"I'm going to see Marie." Cal Answered, reaching back to pat his head.

"You've been hanging out with her a lot." Sam muttered with a small smile.

"I know...I kind of..." Calamari paused and sighed. "I think I like her."

"Like... _Like_ like?"

"Like _like_ like."

"You should ask her out!" Sam said quickly. "...if I'm dating Marie, and you're dating Marie, and we're dating each other...then we're all dating each other."

"Yeah." Calamari turned a little to grin at him, "That would be nice, huh?"

"Yeah…" Sam sighed. For a moment he looked up at her, then he leaned forwards to kiss her but he quickly pulled away when he heard Cheese rush in.

"Ready!" She said with a big smile.

"A-Alright, alright." Sam muttered. Calamari smirked, seeing Sam's blush.

"Hey," She said quietly. "Have fun, remember you need some clothes too."

"Right, I'll get some shirts and stuff." Sam assured her as he leaned up to kiss her before heading for the door. "See ya, Cal."

"See ya!" Cal called back before Sam and Cheese stepped out the door. They walked out to Sam's car and climbed in. Sam had to make sure she was buckled in right before they took off. Sam kind of hummed and tapped his fingers on the wheel. Spending time with Cheese was stressful, to say the least. He felt conflicted. He was sure that Cheese was Basil but...she was so different.

Sam took a deep breath and then spoke. "How's your head, Cheese?"

"Good!" She answered. She bounced her legs and fidgeted with her shirt just like Basil used to. "No hurt."

He nodded, biting his lip. "...good. Um...Cheese…" He paused, and for a moment he wondered if he really needed to ask the question he thought he was going to ask. Regardless, he did. "...do you remember being Basil?"

Cheese paused and tilted her head. "Basil…?"

"Yeah. You used to be named Basil, but then you lost your memory."

Cheese shook her head. "Not Basil."

"Yeah." Sam tried. "You're Basil Osa. I'm your older brother, Sam. You had a little sister named Olive."

Cheese clenched her jaw, and then she clenched her fist as well. "No." She said firmly. "Not Basil. I am _Cheese._ Basil gone."

The last two words hit Sam like a truck

The sister he knew was gone.

 _Basil was gone._

He pulled into a parking spot by the mall, and as soon as he was fully parked he slumped. "Basil _is_ gone, huh?"

Cheese nodded, watching him curiously.

"Cheese is my sister."

Cheese smiled wide. 'Yes!"

Sam looked up at her, and did his best to smile. "Right. Well, come on Sis." He said. "We gotta go clothes shopping."

Cheese grinned wide and cheered as she climbed out of the passenger side of the car. She hurried around to wait for Sam to get out. As soon as he'd closed the door and locked the car and had shoved his keys in his pocket, Cheese took his hand and they walked into the store together.

They went to get Cheese's clothes first. He hummed as he looked at various signs. "...I guess you're like...teens? Whatever sizes teens are…?" He muttered. He glanced over to see what Cheese seemed to be thinking, only to find that she wasn't there. For just a moment, his heart skipped a beat. "-uh, Cheese?"

He noticed movement out of the corner of his eye, and finally spotted his sister standing by some of the shirts in the men's section. She was just looking over a large white T-Shirt. He furrowed his brows. "...that's way to big for you, Cheese." He said.

She pointed at it. "Comfy!" She said.

"Well I mean….yeah, but are you sure you wanna wear that to like...school if you start going soon?" Sam asked. He started sifting through the different sizes to find the smallest size there was and pulling it out.

"Yes." Cheese replied, looking up at him with a certain determination on her face.

"You don't wanna look at some other shirts that might fit you better…?" Sam asked.

"Nope!" Cheese said, taking the shirt Sam held and holding it close to her.

"Okay...Cheese, come on." Sam started as he reached up to pinch the bridge of her nose. "Let's go look at some shirts your size and if you don't like them, fine. But let's at least go look at them."

Cheese huffed a little, but she turned to walk towards her section with slightly sagging shoulders. Sam watched her walk off, and for just a moment wondered if this was what parenting would be like.

They spent a while looking through shirt after shirt that actually fit her, and she just seemed to turn them away. She seemed to just gravitate towards the big shirts she was the most comfortable in. Eventually, Sam sighed. "...alright, Cheese. Pick out whatever you want, just get the smallest size, alright?"

"Okay!" Cheese grinned, hurrying over to pick out a few shirts. Since they were in the men's section, Sam tried to pick out a few for himself. He was sifting through the racks when he felt his phone start buzzing in his pocket. He reached down for it, expecting to see Pearl or Marina's name since they were both at work today without him but found it only to be a unfamiliar number. At first, he thought to let them leave a voicemail but...something in his gut said to answer it, so he did.

"Hello?" He muttered as he he stuck his phone between his ear and shoulder so that he could continue to look through the shirts.

"Hello, I'm calling for Samuel Osa?" A girl's voice said. There was a lot of hustle and bustle and steady beeping coming from around her.

"This is he, may I ask who's calling?" Sam asked, his eyebrows furrowed a little in confusion.

"I'm with the main Inkopolis Police Department. I need you to come up to St. Inkwell hospital as soon as you can." She explained.

Sam's heart jumped into his throat, and he dropped the shirt he was holding. "I-I'm sorry? I-Is something wrong? What's going on?"

"We just need you to come up here as fast as you can." The officer repeated.

"I-I...I'm coming, but you can't tell me anything else?" Sam asked. He leaned down to pick up the shirt he dropped and put it back on the rack. He then hurried to find Cheese with her pile of shirts and motioned for her to follow him.

"I'm afraid not. We'd just appreciate it if you would come up to the hospital as fast as you can."

"Alright, I'm on my way." He said, hanging up the phone and shoving it in his pocket. He took the pile of clothes from Cheese and walked to the nearest counter with an employee behind it. "-Hey, I'm SO sorry. I just got a call we have to rush out, I'd put all these back for you but I have to go-"

"Oh!" The man behind the counter quickly took the clothes off the counter. "It's alright, don't worry."

"Thank you so much!" He said, taking Cheese's hand and hurrying to the door. He tried to ignore Cheese's extremely questioning looks. He just got in the car and immediately called Calamari. He held his breath as the phone rang, afraid that it would go straight to voicemail.

"...hello?" Came Calamari's voice, and he let out a big sigh of relief.

"Cal! Is everything alright?" Sam asked quickly.

"...huh? Everything is fine, Sam. What's going on?" She asked.

"I just got a call from the police department saying they needed me to come up to the hospital as fast as I could, but wouldn't tell me anything. I thought it had something to do with you or Marie!" Sam said quickly.

"No, not us. Do you want us to meet you up there at the hospital? Whatever's going on can't be great." Calamari offered.

"Yes, please? I still have Cheese, I'll need someone to stay with her anyways…"

"Gotcha. We'll meet you up there." Calari said. "...just calm down, okay? We'll see you soon, I love you."

"Love you too." Sam said as he started the car. He said his goodbye before tearing out of the parking lot and down the road back towards the square. He had NO Idea what could be waiting for him at the hospital and it left his stomach in knots.

Besides him, Cheese fidgeted with anything she could. "...Sam…" She whispered after a second. "...hospital?"

"Y-Yeah. The cops said to come to the hospital." Sam explained.

"...why?" Cheese asked, looking up at him with a clearly worried frown.

"I don't know. But I'm sure everything will be okay…" Sam explained. He kept one hand on the steering wheel, and offered one to Cheese to hold. She gladly took it.

They got to the hospital in no time. Sam found a place to park and got out of the car. He made sure to walk around to take Cheese's hand as they walked in together. He came to the woman at the front desk, leaning against the counter. "Excuse me," He said quietly. "My name's Samuel Osa, I was told to come here by an officer-"

"Oh, yes." The woman said. She leaned over the counter to point towards a hall to his right. "Go down that hall there until you hit the Emergency Department. There should be an officer waiting for you in there."

"Thank you so much." He said, and quickly turned towards the hall. He walked through it, glancing up at the bright hospital lights above them. He couldn't help but feel he was walking towards something horrible. The hall was filled with dread.

As he passed into the open ER waiting room he looked down from the lights to see an inkling woman standing there in a cops outfit besides a woman in a nicer outfit. He walked up to them. "...excuse me?" He started. "...um...I'm Samuel Osa."

They both looked up, and the cop gave him a small smile as if to attempt to comfort him. "Hey, I'm glad you came quick." She said as she looked to the woman besides her who pulled out her clipboard. "We need to ask you a few questions and confirm some things before we can tell you what exactly is going on…"

"U-Um...alright. Go ahead." Sam said, eyeing the woman's clipboard anxiously.

"Can we see your ID, first of all?" The woman asked.

"Of course!" Sam said, using his free hand to fish his wallet out of his pocket. He quickly took out his driver's license and handed it over. He watched her look it over and copy a few things down before handing it back over.

"Alright," She said. "Let me get you to fill out a few of these things and then we might be able to get you some info…"

Sam took the clipboard from her, filling out a few blanks. Most of it was information like a birthday, squid social security and few other details. As soon as he was done, he handed it back and waited for her to look it over. She seemed to double check it with something on a tablet with her before she set it down and looked up at him. "...alright, Sam. My name's Zesty." She said as she offered him a hand. "I'm a caseworker for Squid Kid Protective Services. I'm here for Olive Osa, she came in not long ago severely injured and claimed it was because of her parents. She gave us your name when we asked for a close relative we could call."

Sam felt his stomach drop, and the color drained from his face. "..O-Olive?" He squeaked. "I-Is she going to be okay?"

"She'll be alright, but she'll need to stay here in the hospital a few days more than likely." Zesty explained. She tapped her pen on her clipboard.

"A-Alright." Sam said as he reached up to run a hand through his hair. "...what's happening with our parents?"

"We're currently getting a warrant for arrest." The cop besides Zesty spoke up. "As soon as we have a warrant they'll be arrested for questioning. For now, she'll be in the hospital but she needs somewhere to stay afterward. As the closest of age relative, we'd like you to take temporary custody."

"Yeah, I understand! I w-will!" Sam said quickly. "I absolutely will. W-Will there be criminal charges against my parents?"

"Yes, absolutely. What charges depends on what we hear from their questioning and from you guys." The cop explained.

"...okay. Um...as of right now, we're getting some testing done to be sure this is her, but I believe this is my little sister Basil. We've been in contact with a lawyer to try and get custody of her, I'd...like to get custody of both of them." Sam explained.

The cop nodded. "Get in touch with your lawyer, we'll be in touch as well. We're going to have to bring you in for questioning as well."

"That's fine! That's fine!" Sam said quickly. He gripped Cheese's hand as tightly as he could. "...u-um...please, can I see her….? Olive?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure you can. Come on back with me." Zesty said as she motioned for them to follow and walked back through the double doors with the two in tow.

Zesty took him to a room in the back that looked like a trauma room of sorts. She knocked lightly on the door before pushing it open. "...Olive? Your brother's here." She stepped out of the way so Sam could see Olive, and the sight he saw hit him hard.

Olive was sitting up on a small bed. She wore a large gown that was much too big for her, and Sam could easily see bandages wrapped tightly around her waist. Her face was black and blue and full of pain. Yet, she met his eyes and her eyes widened. "Sam?" She choked.

Sam rushed to her side, quickly grabbing her hands. "-Olive what did they _do?"_

She didn't answer his question. Instead, she just pulled her hands away and hugged him as tight as she could as she began to sob. "-I-I thought you died! I never saw you again after you tried to come get me!"

Sam held her close, pressing his face against the top of her head. She'd grown so much in the past few years and she was no longer just a little girl, but right now he felt like he was holding tiny 9 year old Olive. "I'm so sorry Olive…" He whispered. "But it's alright, you escaped and you're gonna stay with me, and mom and dad are gonna get arrested and they're gonna get what's coming to them."

Olive nodded, sniffling. She pulled away, and looked at Cheese standing by the officer and just...paused with her mouth halfway open.

"That's Basil." Sam whispered. "But….she lost her memory so….she knows herself as Cheese. Basil is Cheese now. Cheese is your sister…"

"...oh." Olive said quietly. "...does she know me…?"

Sam glanced up, "...Cheese, do you know who this is?" He asked. Cheese shook her head, but she stepped forwards.

"...who?" She asked.

"This is your little sister, Olive." Sam explained.

"Oh…" Cheese whispered. Then after a few more moments she firmly nodded. "Okay."

After that, Sam sat on the edge of the bed and talked to Zesty. He had to fill out a lot more paperwork and explain every part of where Olive would live and with who. They also did paperwork for Cheese so he had temporary custody of both, and he could finally get them to doctor's appointments and in school. When he was just about done with all of the paperwork, there was a knock on the door and a nurse stuck her head in.

"I'm sorry, there's two people outside who want to see Samuel Osa." The nurse explained, and as she did Sam perked up slightly. That had to have been Calamari and Marie.

"That's fine." Zesty said, waving a hand to say they could come in. Sam looked up to the door as he handed the clipboard full of paperwork back to Zesty to watch Cal duck in the door and Marie follow. He quickly stood up and went to greet them. For once, he didn't kiss either of them hello, he just hugged them both before stepping back.

"Sorry it took so long to get here," Marie sighed, her shoulders sagging. "There was a wreck and it took forever to get around it and….yeah."

"But we're here." Calamari finished. She glanced up at Olive sitting on the bed, and the officer and social worker looking woman sitting in the room with an obvious questioning look. "...so uh...what's happened, Sam?"

"R-Right, um…" Sam stepped over to the bed. "...you don't...recognize her, I know. But actually, this is my little sister Olive. She managed to escape."

Both Calamari and Marie's eyes widened. " _-She did?!"_ Marie spat after a moment.

"Yeah, I think she came to the hospital and that's when I got called in. My... parents are being arrested and I have temporary custody of her until a judge gives me permanent custody." Sam explained.

Marie broke out into her normal half grin, while Calamari gave Sam her best 'I'm trying not to freak out because of the sudden extremely overwhelming change in our life, it's cool I'll handle this' smile. "...that's great, Sam. I'm glad things are kinda finally moving." Marie said.

Sam nodded, before glancing at Olive. "...Olive, this is my fiance Calamari and my girlfriend Marie." He explained, watching the two women wave.

Olive raised an eyebrow. "A fiance _and_ a girlfriend…?" She asked. "Isn't that like...uhhhhhhhh cheating."

"...well actually, she's my girlfriend too so…" Marie nodded her head towards Calamari, trying not to laugh at the grin that immediately appeared on Sam's face.

"...huh." Olive muttered. "...alright…."

Sam quickly looked away from the two other inklings. "Marie doesn't live with us, but Calamari does live with us. We're just in a one room apartment right now, but we're planning on moving into a house really soon so...just...bear with us."

Olive kind of sighed. "...Anything is better than being at home." She said, glancing up at him. "As long as it's not home, I'll take it."

" _...Eight?"_

Tai's soft voice cut through the silence of the night. He sat up against a tree, looking out over the valley beneath them. Pearl was sitting to his right on her phone, and Marina seemed to be standing a bit closer to the edge to look over it as if she could hope to see something. Any kind of hint as to where Agent Eight was. Her laptop sat nearby.

There was a long moment of silence before the radio crackled to life, and Eight's voice could be heard. " _Tai!"_ She spoke in a happier tone than when Tai had first began to talk to her. " _You're here tonight."_

" _Yeah, I really wanted to come up and talk to you again."_ He explained with a small smile. Her voice and their language was like a comfort to him. " _...get past anymore tests?"_

" _I've been sleeping."_ She admitted with a weak laugh. " _I think I'm ready to try again though."_

" _That's alright! You really deserve the rest."_ Tai said quickly. " _...I'll be here all night, though. I wanted to help, so…"_

" _You will?"_ Boba asked, her voice lighting up in a way that made Tai smile.

" _Yeah, I'll be around."_ Tai promised.

" _Thank you so much!"_ Boba said. " _...really, Tai. I appreciate it."_

Tai smiled, settling back against the tree. " _...it's no problem."_

 **A/N:** **I** **t's been a hot minute! I'm working on these as much as I can, I promise!**

 **Thank you to all of those still reading! Make sure to leave me a comment, those are always always appreciated. They really help motivate me!**  
 **Thanks 3**


	32. Oops we bought a house

Sam quietly walked down the hall of the apartment. He came to his and Calamari's room, and pushed the door open so he could step into the dark room. He looked to the figure laying in bed, eyes half closed.

"Hey Olive…" Sam said softly. He moved to set some things down on the bedside table - medicine and water. "How are you feeling…?"

"My stupid side hurts." Olive muttered. She moved to sit up, wincing as she did so.

"Yeah, I bet. We gotta change out the bandages and take medicine." Sam explained with a weak and sympathetic smile.

Olive groaned, eyeing him wearily. "Do we have to…?"

"If you don't want to have a big gaping scar that everyone stares at, then yeah." Sam said. He sat down on the bed besides her. "Come on, you know the drill."

Olive sighed and moved to take her shirt off, revealing her waist wrapped tightly in blood stained bandages. She held her arms up so Sam could take them off, and the large wound on her side was exposed to cool air that sent a chill up her spine. Sam looked it over, biting his lip. It was a large gash digging inches deep into her side, now stitched up so it could heal completely. Sam just sighed and reached for the non-squid-harming cleaning solution.

He'd been avoiding asking questions about Olive's wound. He'd been helping clean it for a few days in total silence. He didn't want to think about what had happened to her, or how she might really be feeling about him. However, he knew that he couldn't leave it. He couldn't not say anything.

He sighed, and started to clean the deep wound. "...Mom...Mom really did this…?" He asked.

Olive hissed a little, clenching her fists as Sam cleaned up the wound. "Yep…" She said through clenched teeth. "Mom did this."

"...was she just...being cruel again? Or was she really trying to kill you?"

Olive let out a sigh of relief as Sam finally finished cleaning her side. She let her arms down. "She, um….yeah she was trying to punish me again or whatever, but she said she hoped it killed me. She left me with this to go get another knife and uh...I was tasting blood and the door was right there so I made a run for it and she couldn't catch me. Some Urchin man helped me find the hospital and….yeah." Olive shrugged. "That's that."

Sam bit his lip, staring at the sheets. He thought back to the last day he'd seen her, how she was small and scared, how she was still his baby sister Olive. Now, two years later, she'd matured. She _had_ to mature.

Sam took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry Olive…" He said with a shaky voice dripping with guilt.

"You didn't put this gigantic cut in my side." Olive muttered.

"No, I…" Sam faltered. He reached up to wipe tears from his cheeks. "I never came back for you. I just...lived a nice life while you were stuck there. I feel terrible for it."

Olive stared at him for a moment as if she was fully processing what he'd just said. She fidgeted a little with her hands. "I honestly thought you were dead, Sam. Mom and Dad acted like they killed you, I just gave Zesty your name as like….well, a long shot. But I mean...I don't know. Now I know you're alive and that you've been living here with a job and a fiance and even Basil and it does kind of….sting." Olive admitted. "...that you didn't come get me, I guess."

"I swear, I was about to start fighting for custody." Sam said quickly. "But I think that I was terrified that they would kill you if I tried to get you back."

"Well. They tried to kill me anyways." Olive said bitterly.

Sam sighed deeply and he looked up at her. "...I'm sorry. That was wrong of me, I should have fought harder. I shouldn't have been so scared." He explained. "But I promise, I swear on my life I'm taking care of you now. I will never abandon you. You got me?"

Olive paused, and then sheepishly looked up at him. "...you swear? You really swear?"

"I really, really swear."

Olive slowly nodded. "Alright…" She said. "I hope so. I don't know where else I would go."

"I promise, we'll take care of you." Sam repeated. "...Let me bandage you up again so that you can rest."

Olive nodded, holding her arms up so he could wrap bandages around her waist in silence. As soon as she was all bandaged up Sam made sure she took the medicine she needed and was comfortable before he slipped out of the room. For a moment he paused, leaning on the wall as he looked at the wall opposite of him. Then, he just sighed and headed down the hall through the living room. He saw Cheese sitting on the couch watching TV, and he heard Calamari and Marie's voices in the kitchen. He walked over to lean down and kiss Cheese's head before he headed through the kitchen doorway to see his fiance and girlfriend sitting at their small kitchen table with a laptop and their phones.

Marie glanced up, and pat an empty chair besides her. "C'mon Sam. Did you take care of Olive?"

"Yeah…" Sam muttered as he sat down.

"You don't sound too enthusiastic." Calamari muttered. She glanced over at him from her computer to read his expression. "...you don't look too enthusiastic either."

"I think um….I think Olive is kind of upset with me." He muttered as he reached up to run a finger over the scar on his face.

"Why's Olive upset with you?" Marie asked. She reached over to grab his hand and pull it away from the scar without even blinking.

"I...you know I...I should have come for her sooner. Before Mom tried to kill her. I shouldn't have waited." Sam explained as he slumped in his chair. "She's kinda...bitter."

"...well…" Marie started. "I can't say I blame her too much, Sam."

"I know." Sam groaned, burying his face in his hands.

"But you're taking care of her now, right…?" Calamari asked, speaking as if her question was a reminder more than it was truly a question.

"Y-Yeah, I am…"

"She kinda has a right to be mad but...just give her time, Sam." Marie explained. "It's gonna take some time to heal…"

Sam took a deep breath and then nodded. He gave Calamari and Marie a small smile. "Alright…" He said, then glanced at the laptop. "So what are we doing…?"

"We're gonna call my Mom and Dad and talk about a house and...well, introduce Marie." Calamari explained. "We were waiting on you...you ready…?"

"Oh! Y-Yeah!" Sam sat up a little more. "Sorry! I didn't know you guys were waiting…"

"You're fine." Cal said as she hit the call button and pushed the laptop back so that all three of them were in the shot. The screen changed and they saw Ban and Nan sitting there. Ban's face lit up and Nan managed a smile.

"Hello!" Ban said. "How are you guys?!"

"We're doing alright, Dad." Calamari said, waving a little. "How about you?"

"We're doing good!" Ban replied, then his eyes snapped to Marie sitting between them. "Who's this…?"

"Ah, right so...that's one of the things we wanted to talk about." Calamari began. "So, this is Marie. She's Sam and I's girlfriend."

Both Ban and Nan's eyebrows flew up. "...Girlfriend?"

"Yeah, we both really like Marie so we both decided to ask her out so...we're both dating her. No cheating or anything fishy." Calamari explained.

Ban and Nan were quiet for a little bit, making Cal glance nervously at Sam and Marie. Finally, Ban spoke up. "I can't say I get it, probably because that wouldn't be my cup of tea, but as long as you're happy, then that's okay."

Nan nodded. "Yes, it's nice to meet you Marie."

"Yeah!" Ban followed quickly. "You know, we interrogated Sam when we first met him so I feel like we're obligated to interrogate you too."

Marie laughed a little and grinned at them. "Alright, that's fine with me, I think." She said. "Ask away."

"...well…" Ban scratched his chin a little. "What do you do for a living?"

Marie shifted in her seat a little. "...well, I'm actually a pop star." She explained. "I'm Marie from the Squid Sisters."

"Squid Sisters sounds familiar…" Ban muttered as he thought.

"-Oh! Squid Sisters! Marie, some of my patients love you two." Nan said quickly, her eyes lighting up a little when she made the connection. She then paused. "...wow, you're both dating a huge pop star…how on earth did you three meet….?"

"Oh, I actually met Marie because I started managing them when they were still just as small as the Inkopolis News. Marie and I started to like each other and Calamari was soon after." Sam explained.

"Ah, I see. Well that's pretty cool…" Nan said. "...some of my patients would be ecstatic to know my daughter was dating Marie."

Marie grinned. "Yeah, some of our fans are….dedicated." She explained.

"So, okay," Ban spoke up. "Are you going to like...also be married, or…?"

"Oh, no! No, not yet." Marie said quickly. "I'm not moving in even. I take care of my cousin, she lives with me. She has some issues, so...making sure she's taken care of is most important right now."

"Ah...that's good." Ban said with a small smile. "Well, let us know if you need absolutely anything, alright?"

Marie smiled again, and reached over to take Calamari's hand under the table and squeeze it tightly. "Thank you so much."

"Of course!" Ban smiled more.

"Alright, there was a question about house buying, right?" Nan asked, making Ban roll his eyes.

"Right down to business, dear."

"Shut up, Ban. Now what's going on, hun?"

"Right," Calamari said as she straightened up in her seat. "So, we were going to wait to buy a house after we'd gotten married in November, right? Well there's kind of been a big change, and we're going to need to buy that house sooner than we thought."

"Oh? What's going on?" Ban asked. He tilted his head, and frowned in concern.

Calamari looked over at Sam with a sympathetic smile, and Marie squeezed his hand. Sam took a deep breath before beginning to speak.

"Do you remember how I told you both that my parents weren't a part of my life anymore, and I didn't have my sisters with me….?"

"Oh, yes." Nan said. "I do. Did that change?"

"Ah...yes." Sam said. "So...my parents weren't a part of my life because I was kicked out. They were extremely a-abusive. My younger sister Basil went missing and my baby sister Olive was still with them but….she escaped. So squid CPS got involved, we found Basil, both of my sisters are in my custody. My parents are in jail, waiting on indictment. So we're all kinda crammed in our apartment right now…"

For a moment, all Ban and Nan did was stare. It wasn't disbelief, but it was more like horror. "Did...Did you get _that_ from them…?" Ban asked, tracing a line from the corner of his eye and across his lips.

Sam shrank a little, and Marie grabbed Sam's hand one more time to stop him from touching his face. He nodded. Y-Yes…."

"Sam…" Nan spoke up. "I'm so sorry. That has to be tough."

"I-It's alright, it's fine. I just want to make sure my sisters and my fiance have a good place to live." Sam said quickly.

Ban and Nan looked at eachother, each with a faint smile. "Alright, Sam. You guys go house hunting as soon as you can. Find any house that works for you. Don't worry about price, you hear me?"

Sam bit his lip, and nodded. "Yes mam…."

Ban then pointed at both Calamari and Marie. "Hey, he's good. Keep him."

Both Calamari and Marie glanced at each other and then laughed a little, each grinning. "I think we intend on it." Marie said.

"Good! Also hey...could we meet your sisters, Sam…?" Ban asked. "Is that a rude thing to ask….?"

"O-Oh! No, not at all! You can meet Basil! Well, she's called Cheese now, actually. Olive just got out of the hospital, and she's recovering from a really bad injury so...she's asleep." Sam explained and then leaned back into his chair. "-Cheese! Can you come here please?"

They heard the couch shifting and they hear Cheese's heavy footsteps as she ran to the kitchen, stomping along the way. Sam briefly closed his eyes in annoyance. "Cheese, no stomping. We talked about that." He muttered to her. "Come here, I want you to meet someone."

Cheese hurried over, squeezing herself between Sam and Marie to peer at the laptop. She looked at the screen, then at Sam questioningly.

"Cheese, this is Calamari's Mom and Dad. Ban, Nan this is my little sister Cheese." Sam explained.

"Oh! It's nice to meet you, Cheese!" Ban said happily, waving.

Cheese peered at the screen before she looked back at Sam. "Grandpa?" She asked.

"Uhhh….not….exactly.' Sam explained with a slightly puzzled look.

"Hey, I don't think we mind being Grammy and Grampy!" Ban said quickly. "Kids like you need grandparents!"

Sam glanced back at Cheese to see her reaction, but she was just watching Ban intently.

"How old are you, Cheese?" Nan asked after a second, looking her over with curiosity.

Cheese looked away, screwing up her face in thought.

"She's 14," Sam explained, reaching up to make sure her hair was out of her face and she looked half decent. She still seemed to be thinking about the age question.. "Um...there was an accident when she was 11 or so...she uh...sustained some really bad brain damage, we think. She lost her memory and stuff, so she goes by Cheese now. She um...She has some good days and bad days with like...cognitive processes, talking and stuff but...today is not a good day, I think. Sorry she's not really talkative."

"No, no no!" Ban said quickly, waving his hands. "It's fine! Sorry, I didn't know about that. If she wants to go, it's okay!"

Sam pat Cheese's arm. "Wanna go watch TV?" He asked her. When she nodded, he nodded back and gave her a soft 'okay' before letting her run back to the living room.

"She seems sweet, Sam." Ban said with a smile.

"She is, I promise." Sam said.

There was a small moment of silence before Nan sighed. "Alright, you two. Go house hunting and give us a call when you find the one and we'll pay for it, alright? Don't. Worry. About. Price." Sam and Calamari looked at each other and then nodded. "Yes mam."

"Alright, then we're gonna head out. I'll talk to you later Cal. Bye!"

They all waved and after a moment the screen went black. Sam sat back in his chair still smiling. He looked to Cal besides him. "Well...Cal, I guess we're going house hunting."

Calamari smiled back. "I guess so."

—

"Alright, Cheese, Olive, I gotta tell you something." Sam began as he, Calamari and his sisters stood outside of a rather large house with an 'open house' sign in the yard. "Please don't touch anything. I don't want anything broken. If you break it, we gotta buy it, alright?"

Olive nodded, "Yes, Dad." She muttered, glancing back at the house behind them. Besides them, Cheese nodded. She also looked back at the house curiously, looking as if she was thinking, calculating something in her head.

"Alright, then." Sam got a big grin on his face. "Let's go look at a house then!"

Cheese let out a small cheer before she hurried to the door to open up and hurry inside. Sam was quick to follow with Calamari and Olive behind them. Cal stayed back just to make sure that Olive was alright. She was out and about a little soon after her injury, after all.

As they stepped inside a rather tall octoling boy in a suit greeted them at the door. "Ah, hello!" He said. "Come on in you guys! Here to look around?"

Sam smiled a little as he carefully took Cheese's hand to keep her from running off into the house. "Hey! Yeah, we're here to take a look at the house."

"Wonderful! Let me get you an information sheet real fast." He said as he disappeared into a small office by the entrance of the house for just a few seconds while Calamari and Olive came in. Calamari looked around the entrance and peered down into the living room.

"This place looks good…." She whispered, glancing at Sam.

"I'm kinda amazed at the size." Sam muttered back to her.

"Oh, this ain't nothing. You should see Pearl and Marina's place." Cal said, glancing over when the real estate agent came over with a sheet for Sam.

"Ah, here you go! This has all the information on it, price and rooms and everything." He said as he held it out to Sam, letting him take a look at it as he began to speak. "This is 5 beds, 4 bath. It's running about $600,000 right now, although there's no offers yet. The place is brand new, really. Is there anything in particular you're looking for in a home…?"

Sam showed Calamari the sheet in his hand. "Really just...room, which it seems like you've got here." He said.

"Large backyard," Calamari said. "...we would need an office. Good garage, and uh...spacious, honestly." She glanced down at her leg, still in it's brace that helped her get around.

"This sounds like the perfect house for you." The agent said with a smile. "Let me show you guys around, how does that sound?"

"That sounds great!" Sam said, he glanced down at Cheese. He leaned down a little, "You can go look around but remember, don't break anything, alright?"

Cheese nodded eagerly, and as soon as Sam let go of her hand she was off. The real estate agent couldn't help but laugh, watching as she ran off. "Kids, huh?" He asked.

"Yeah, she's actually my little sister." Sam said with a small laugh himself. "She's just really excited to look around."

"I can't say I blame her! Come on, I'll show you three around." The agent said, beginning their tour.

As they went through the house Sam found himself in awe. The agent showed them the five bedrooms, including the humongous master bedroom. The kitchen and living room were connected and open, which seemed to make Calamari happy. There was a large office upstairs, and a mudroom in the back that lead out into the large backyard with a patio and tons of room. The part that seemed to excite Calamari the most was the garage. There was enough room for the cars, and for her to work on weapons when she wanted to. Both Sam and Calamari seemed delighted with the house.

When they circled back around to the small entryway, the agent looked at them with a raised eyebrow and an almost mischievous smile. "Well, what do you two think?"

"Well...really it's perfect." Sam muttered as he glanced around the place.

"It's a pretty good house," Calamari agreed. "There's a few more places we might look though."

"Ah! Yeah! That's alright!" The agent said quickly and reached into his pocket. "Here's my business card. My names Calzone, here's my phone number and email. If you guys want to put an offer on the house, just give me a call, alright?"

"Right, of course. Thank you so much, Calzone." Sam said, turning his head to look down the hallway. "-Hey Cheese! Come on, we're leaving!"

Calamari and Olive started to head out the door while Sam waited for Cheese to come hurrying around the corner. However, that's not at all what he saw.

He saw Cheese slowly walk around the corner carrying a large white door and the frame that went with it. Sam's blood ran cold, and the agent besides him dropped all the cards in his hands.

"-Cheese what the _fuck_ did you do?!" Sam shrieked after a moment, rushing to grab the door from her.

Cheese looked up at him. "Buy it." She said matter-of-factly.

"Buy the door?!"

"No. House broke. Buy it." Cheese repeated, tapping the door with her hand.

"Buy the…" Sam trailed off, realizing what Cheese was saying. His shoulders fell slightly. "...I did say break it buy it, huh? You like the house that much?"

Cheese nodded and she tapped the door again. "Buy it!"

Sam just looked back at Calamari who stood in the doorway looking slightly bewildered and horrified. "I...well…Sam, are you okay with this house?" She asked.

"I did love it." Sam said, glancing at the poor, poor real estate agent. "...um...I-I think we'll take the house. If it makes you feel any better, we can pay for all of it immediately. We'll cover the damage ourselves."

The agent blinked, and leaned down to scoop up all of his cards. "W-Well...um...why don't you step into my office then….?"

Sam sat at the kitchen table with Calamari late that night. He had his laptop out, typing up emails and notes to give to Pearl and Marina about the upcoming splatfest. After a moment, he sat back. "...I still can't believe Cheese did that." He muttered. "I don't even...I don't even know how she pulled an entire fucking door out of the wall."

"She was Marie's agent." Calamari muttered. "Did you see the look on that poor agent's face?"

"I know, I'm so embarrassed." Sam muttered as he finally just buried his face in his hands.

Calamari reached over to pat his back. "Aw, Sam it's fine. At least we're moving out pretty fast. We can get out of here, right? And we _loved_ the house anyways."

"...yeah…" Sam sighed. He shut his laptop and went to pick up his phone. He opened up squid twitter, starting to scroll through it. "We did…"

He sleepily scrolled through his phone when it started to buzz. He frowned as he read the name. "...Minty's calling me…" He muttered, sounding puzzled.

Calamari's brow furrowed. "Then answer it."

Sam slid to accept, and pressed the phone to his ear. "Hello…?"

"Hey, Sam, sorry for the really late call I got some important news. Like _really_ important news for you." Came Minty's voice over the phone. "I got a call from um...both the lab about Basil and well...your parent's Lawyer. What do you want first?"

Sam closed his eyes, "...u...uh...Basil first."

"The reports came back, she _is_ Basil." Minty said, and he could hear her sifting through papers. "She's definitely your sister, alright?"

Sam let out a tiny sigh of relief, running a hand through his hair. "Right. What about the other thing?"

"Alright, that's the bad news. They've both been indicted, and plead not guilty. So...well Sam…" Minty let out a small sigh. "You're going to court, hun."

Sam let his head fall to the table, barely cringing when his forehead hit the table. "...god...really?" He asked.

"Really." She answered. "But it's fine, sweetie. We've got so much evidence against them now. Squid CPS took a look at the house, they did interviews with Olive at the hospital. We have your testimony as well. Hopefully this will be short and sweet."

"I really hope so…"

"Since they got indicted, they're not letting them out of jail. There's absolutely no way. So..someone needs to go take care of the house and clear it out. I don't know what y'all wanna do with that but, I just had to notify you. More than likely, they're gonna take the property and give it to you anyways." Minty explained. "...I just had to let you know about that."

"Al...Alright, Minty." Sam said in a very small and shaky voice.

"Alright. You get some rest, don't get too upset now, alright? I'll call you when I have more information about court dates. Goodnight, Sam."

"...night, Minty." Sam answered, listening as the phone line went completely dead. He slowly took it from his ear, and set the phone down on the table. He only picked his head up to lean it on Calamari.

She reached over to hug him a little. "...what did Minty say?" She asked quietly.

"Cheese is Basil, my parents got indicted but plead not guilty, I have to testify in court and I have to clean out the house." Sam muttered. "I have to….I have to clean out the house." He repeated.

Calamari frowned, and she leaned down to very gently kiss his head. "We'll do it together, right? We'll get everyone to help out."

"I don't want everyone to see that," He said quickly, sitting up to look at her. "I don't want everyone to have to see how we lived-"

"Sam." Calamari gently took his face in her hands. "...you need the help, and no one is going to think of you badly." She said softly. "Right?"

Sam swallowed and nodded. "R….Right. Right. Okay." He whispered, leaning back into Calamari, letting her hug him tightly, trying to convince himself that he would be alright.

 **A/N:** Woah, it's been a hot minute since I updated! I had a bunch of stuff happen all at once. I had to write a 24 page case study for one class, which sucked all the writing juice out of me. We also started to foster a very tiny kitten which take of time as it turns out.

Thanks for reading, as always! This chapter was longer, and also quite a bit more scattered than normal but right now we're building up towards the end of the story, in a way so bear with me!

I've been thinking that since summer is around the corner and I'll have more free time, I might start kind of an ask blog for Sam and the fam. Would anyone be interested in that? If so, lemme know cus I just might do it.

Again, thank you so much! 3


	33. It's a bit of a (traumatic) fixer upper

Sam sighed as he looked up at the rundown house before him. The last time he'd been here he was trying to save Olive from the hands of his parents, only to find himself half dead on a pier somewhere. Before that, he was being kicked out with an open gash on his face. Now, the house was his. After his parents were indicted, it was clear that neither of them would be getting out of jail, even on bond. So the court ruled to give him the property. Now he had to take care of it. He refused to move into the property, so they decided to try and clean it up before selling it off. After all, Sam didn't want anything to do with it. So there he stood with those that volunteered to help him. Pearl, Marina, Callie, Marie and Calamari.

"...where do we even start…?" Calamari asked from besides him, looking over an overgrown yard and a paint chipped door.

"Honestly, let's just...look over everything and make a to-do list." Sam answered tireldy.

"I've got the list!" Marina said quickly, holding up a small notebook and a pen. "Just...show us around, I guess."

Sam saw the notebook in her hand and smiled weakly. "...thanks, Marina." He said softly. He then took a few steps into the yard. "I guess the first thing is taking care of the actual yard."

"Yardwork, got it."

"And uh...probably the outside of the house needs some work. Paint and some fixing up, so-" Sam stopped at the end of the sentence and looked down as his foot hit something hard sticking out of the ground. He saw the glint of something silver through knee-high grass. When he leaned down to pick it up he found his fingers wrapping around the handle of a semi-rusted knife that he yanked out of the ground and brought up to look at.

"-Dude, did you just find a fucking _knife_?" Pearl asked as she saw him staring at it in his hand. She noticed a pained look on his face and furrowed her brow. "Did you cut yourself or somethin'?"

Calamari made a light 'cut it out' motion to her cousin, and Marie walked over to gently take the knife from his hands and place it behind her back. "C'mon Sam. We've got stuff to do."

Sam took a deep breath, reaching up to run one finger over the scar on his face. "Right. S-So...fix up the outside of the house."

"Got it." Marina said softly as she scribbled the note down on her notepad. She watched as Marie stepped away to throw the rusted knife in a trashcan by the front porch of the house. Although Pearl seemed a little puzzled about the whole thing, Marina watched Sam run a finger over the scar on his face and looked at him sympathetically.

"Okay, inside the house, let's go." Sam said. He walked through the grass to the front door, letting himself inside and leaving the door open for the others.

They all stepped into the house and into the small living room. To their immediate right was a set of stairs, and to their left was an open kitchen connected to the living room. By the kitchen was a door leading into another room.

"Okay, um...living room…" Sam explained. Embarrassment and struggle dripped from his voice. "...that's the kitchen, that door is the uh...it's my parents bedroom and bathroom and stuff. We'll just….start here."

There wasn't much to the living room. Sam looked at the stained, worn couch and the coffee table covered in trash. There was a beat up lamp, a stained rug and a TV sitting on the floor. Sam started to talk about how he wanted to handle cleaning out this room, and while he talked Pearl walked over to look over the trash sitting on the coffee table.

There was empty bottles of alcohol, from beer to hard liquor. Cans of energy drinks, empty take out containers, and then the thing that made Pearl's stomach sink. She leaned down to _very very_ carefully pick up a syringe with a needle still attached, a clear liquid still sitting inside. She looked the table over for other items she thought she might recognize, picking up a small bag of something white. She quickly dropped the bag, but held the syringe up. "...uh...Sam?" She started in an uncharacteristically small voice.

Sam looked over, looking at her face and then the item that she held. He just looked at it with a tired familiarity. "...how about Marina and I handle your parents room….?" Pearl asked quietly. "...I'm assuming it's gonna be...more of this." She explained, motioning to the syringe in her hand.

"Pearlie, are you sure you're okay with that?" Marina asked quickly, her eyes darting nervously between Pearl and the syringe in her hand. "...you can handle that?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'll be fine. I'm not...all that tempted by it anymore anyways. I'm past that." She explained as she dropped the syringe on the table and wiped her hands on her jeans. "C'mon Rina, we'll take a look at it."

"If you don't mind, Sam…" Marina said quickly.

"Nah, not at all I uh...I would _really_ appreciate it, actually." Sam said quickly. "G...Go on ahead."

Pearl nodded, heading off towards the bedroom by the kitchen. Marina handed the notepad to Calamari, giving her a worried look before following. Pearl opened the door, and together they stepped into the bedroom.

It was a small, cramped room with very little furniture. A dresser sat on one end of the room with drawers open and clothes spilling out and an unmade bed sat opposite it besides messy looking night tables. Pearl looked over the items crowding each surface, and sighed a little as she saw syringes and a few lighters among the mix. "...goddamn…" Pearl whispered. "...I...didn't realize Sam grew up like….this."

"...yeah...I mean, I know what I imagined but it's always worse than you imagined when you actually see it." Marina said, shoving her hands in her pockets so she didn't touch anything. "...I guess we need to generally clean up, clean up the furniture cus it looks like half decent furniture…."

"I'm really starting to think about just hiring someone for Sam to do all of this, goddamn…" Pearl muttered. "...he's taking all of this hard too."

"You wanna…?" Marina asked. "...I'm sure he'd appreciate that."

"...I think so. Let's just write down everything we want done and we'll hand it off to someone." Pearl said as she scanned the room one more time. "Come on, let's get outta here it's makin' me nervous."

Marina nodded, and followed back out into the living room. "...hey, Sam?" Marina spoke up. "I think we're just gonna hire someone for you to do this. So let's hurry and write down everything you want done, then you won't have to worry about it."

Sam looked up from whatever it was he was doing, "...oh...god that would be great." He said with relief. "Are you sure you're okay with that….?"

"Yeah, it's fine." Pearl said quickly. "You seriously don't need to be back here for longer than you should be. It's gotta be painful."

Sam nodded, sighing a little as he reached up to run a hand over his head. "...y-yeah. It kinda is."

"Come on, Sammy." Callie said, glancing towards the stairs. "Let's go upstairs and look at that and then we'll just get out of here. Go do something nice!"

Sam silently nodded, walking towards the stairs to head up. There were only a few rooms upstairs. One bathroom, and two other rooms. Sam had to explain that his father often worked in lumber or construction and reserved one of the rooms for his tools and his own items. That left Sam, Basil and Olive always sharing one room. He only glanced into each room to say what he wanted to be done with each one, only lingering in he and his sister's old rooms to see if there was anything he wanted to grab. He finally decided nothing carrying the memories of that house would be worth bringing home.

By the time he finished he felt like panic had its hands around his throat, choking him. He hurried to the door, and he didn't look back at anyone as he left. He just went to the car he came in to sit inside without saying a word to anyone. He closed his eyes, not daring to look at the house again.

"...ah, man. I'll uh, talk to you later Pearl." Calamari said as she put the notebook of stuff-to-do into Pearl's hands. "I think we gotta go."

"Yeah, yeah. Let me know how he's doing later!" Pearl said quickly as she shoved the little notebook in her pocket. "We'll up on Nantai, but...I hope he'll be alright. Let me know."

"I think he'll be fine, eventually. Anyways, thank you for helping out. I'll see you." Calamari said before quickly hurrying back to the car, followed by both Callie and Marie. She let Marie get in the driver's seat, climbing in back with Callie. She reached up to put a hand on Sam's arm, squeezing it lightly to show that she was there when he needed her.

When they got to Marie's house soon after leaving Sam's old house, Callie knew that Sam needed some time with Cal and Marie so she left to go see Boo, leaving them alone. As they stepped in the house Marie paused to look over at Sam. He still looked pale, traces of panic left on his face. Slowly, he went to sit on the couch and put his face in one of his hands. She followed, sitting on his right while Calamari went to sit on his left, taking his hand from his face and into her own.

"...c'mon Sam, what's going on in your head?" Marie asked, leaning down so she could look up at his face. Sam looked at her, and he opened his mouth to speak but the first word was hard to choke out. "I-I'm…" He stopped, taking a deep shaky breath. "A-Ashamed. U-Upset-"

"Ashamed? Sam, you definitely don't need to feel ashamed. Your parents made you live like that, you didn't choose that." Calamari reminded him. "Upset though...I can kinda see why you feel that way."

"It's j-just...a really p-painful reminder of everything I've been through." Sam said quietly. "...I don't know. For one, it's...painful to be there again and see it all. Two...everyone else had to see it too! My feelings and my past...they hurt, but I-I...keep them away f-from everyone because it hurts worse when others see it."

Marie and Calamari looked at each other, and Marie let out a sigh. "I hate to say it Sam but...with your parents wanting to go to court and you having to testify…"

"It's going to get worse, I know." Sam snapped before taking his hand away from Calamari. "It still hurts!"

"It's alright if it hurts, I know it sucks." Calamari said. "...but we're here to help you cope with it, alright? We're here to help you."

Sam fell back against the couch, closing his eyes. "..I know." He said softly. "I just wanna...I just wanna snuggle up and take a nap, can I do that…?"

Calamari silently held her arms out for him, and he crawled into them, pressing his face against her upper chest. As soon as the two of them were settled, Marie moved to snuggle up herself, sighing a little as she felt Calamari kiss her head.

Before they knew it, Sam was fast asleep in their arms, looking peaceful.

They let him sleep for a while. Calamari texted Zach to see if he wouldn't mind keeping Olive and Cheese overnight instead of until the end of the day. He responded, of course he didn't mind keeping them. Whatever Sam needed.

He slept in Calamari's arms until his phone went off at about 6 or 7. He jerked awake, hitting Cal in the chin as he sat up. "-A-Aw shit s-sorry Cal." He muttered as he scrambled for his phone in his pocket. He looked at the screen, seeing Pearl's name. He pressed his phone to his ear, rubbing his eyes with the other. "Pearl….?"

"Sam-" Came Pearl's voice over the phone. It was staticy and broken up.

"-are you on Nantai? You're breaking up." He asked, furrowing his brows.

Pearl didn't answer his question. "-get up-here!" She said.

"...get up to Nantai?" He asked.

"-Eight...last...out soon!" Pearl's broken voice came through the phone, giving Sam enough information for him to get a gist of what was happening.

"I'll be up there soon!" He said into the phone, only for the line to go dead. He looked up to Calamari and Marie. "I think I gotta go to Mount Nantai. I think Eight is about to make it to the surface, I wanna be there."

"Oh, you want us to go?" Calamari asked as she rubbed her chin.

"...No, it's okay, I don't want to put that stress on your leg." He said quickly. "Marie, I know Cap'n's down there…."

"I trust you to take care of him." Marie said with a smile. "I'll stay here with Calamari."

"A-Alright!" Sam said, rushing to put his shoes on before heading out the door. "-I'm borrowing your car Marie!"

"Just don't wreck it!" She called before she heard the front door shut.

Sam booked it to Nantai, hiking up the mountain as fast as he could. By the time he got to the top where Pearl, Marina and Tai were waiting he was covered in sweat and breathing heavy. He just dropped any of his stuff by a tree nearby and ran to their side. "-what's going on?" He asked.

Pearl glanced up at him. "Hey hey, I wasn't sure if you were gonna come. I didn't know what was gonna get through to you with the piss poor signal up here." She said.

"I got enough of a gist to know I need to get up here." Sam answered. "Is Eight almost through her tests?"

"She collected the four thangs, but it turned out that the four thangs were like...a blender? Her and Cap'n almost got blended up. Real murderous like." Pearl explained. "...but an Agent Three saved them?"

"Sara!" Sam said, perking up slightly. "Agent Three is Sara."

"Alright, so Sara saved them. Now they're traveling up to the surface." Pearl explained. Her eyes moved towards Tai and Marina who sat glued to the radio. Tai's knuckles were white as he listened to Agent Eight's voice come through the radio, hooked on her every word. "...it's uh...pretty risky. There's no respawn here. If she goes down…"

Sam's smile faded. "...then she's gone forever."

Pearl's eyes wandered back to the two octolings by the radio. "Exactly. Hopefully, she makes it out alive. Come on." She said before moving to sit by Marina, straining to listen to what Eight was saying on the radio. Sam followed suit, sitting besides Tai and taking his hand to comfort him.

Tai just gave him a tight, worried smile. He hoped Eight would come to the surface alright, otherwise...he'd be heartbroken.


	34. Boba Tea

Eight had never been more exhausted in her life. She squatted down on the platform, leaning against the cord holding it up as she watched the surface fly by underneath her. She listened to Pearl and Cap'n Cuttlefish rap back and forth while Marina just laughed at them. Agent 3 was awake after a long battle with Commander Tartar. They'd just saved the world, and we're all left exhausted from it, especially the two agents.

"Hey, hey we're almost there!" Pearl said as she grinned down at Eight. Marina quickly translated, and Eight grinned back at her.

" _Are you excited, Eight?"_ Marina asked her. " _You know, to finally stand on the surface?"_

Eight nodded. " _Of course I am."_ She answered.

"What about meeting Tai?" Pearl asked with a clear shit eating grin, leaning way down to see her expression and the blush reach her cheeks.

" _...I'm very, very excited to meet Tai…"_ She admitted. " _...I actually can't wait. T-To meet him person, you know ...?"_

Pearl and Marina glanced at each other with a huge grin. "Oh. I think we know." Pearl said knowingly. She glanced down, feeling her body lighten as they started to go down towards a large landing space nearby where Marina and Pearl camped out. There were two people there waving at them with big smiles. One was a short man with red tentacles back in a bun, his pale face splashed with freckles and big nerd glasses sitting on his nose. Besides him was an Octoling with one tentacle sitting on top of his head in a mohawk, wearing shorts and a tank top and hi-tops. Eight knew instantly that it was Tai, and her heart hammered in her chest.

The helicopter landed with a bump, and Cap'n Cuttlefish, Agent 3 and Eight all stepped off the helicopter. Almost immediately Tai ran to her, scooping her up in a hug. " _-EIGHT!"_ He cried as he hugged her tightly, her feet coming off the ground as he lifted her.

She laughed a little, her arms around his neck as she was lifted from the ground. " _O-Oh my gosh, h-hi!"_ She said,

" _Hello!"_ Tai beamed. " _Oh my g-god you're the most beautiful Octoling I've ever seen-"_

Immediately a blush came onto Eight's face, and she barely pulled away as Tai put her down on the ground. " _W-Well...same to you. Most handsome Octoling I've ever seen. You're everything I imagined…"_

"Okay, lovebirds." Pearl spoke up. "...don't know how you fell in love over a radio but apparently you did. Anyways, we should get you and Cap'n Cuttlefish and Three to a hospital. You all look starved…"

For a moment, Eight looked down at herself. " _...oh ...I-I guess so ...I haven't eaten in a while…."_

" _Yeah, I bet you haven't. Come on, hospital time. Think you can manage the hike down the mountain?"_ Marina asked her.

" _I think so. I've done so much, I can do this one more thing…."_ Eight answered.

Tai offered his arm to her. " _Here, let me help…"_

Boba glanced at each other, and then at Sam. They all shared a knowing grin. Marina and Pearl took to walking down the trail together, as did Eight and Tai. Sam looked around a little and noticed Cap'n Cuttlefish doing the same. Both of them caught sight of Sara standing by herself. She too looked starved and scared. She had a large green patch across the right side of her face and eye. Her pupil was a bright green.

Immediately both Sam and Cuttlefish moved towards her. "-Are you alright, youngin'?" The captain asked.

Sara didn't say anything, looking away from them both. She instead reached up to wipe tears from her eyes.

"...Sara…" The Cap'n said softly, his face dropping as he came to her side.

"H-Hey…" Sam spoke up. "How about we get you to the hospital. As soon as I have signal I'll call Callie and Boo and they'll meet us there. How does that sound?"

Sara sniffled and nodded. "Please…" She whispered.

"Alright then, come on." Cuttlefish said, nodding towards the trail. Sam gave her a reassuring look before they all three began their trek.

Sam watched his phone's signal the entire hike. The moment he could, he called for Callie who agreed to meet them at the hospital. He was relieved to see both her and Boo waiting at the ER entrance to pull Sara into a hug.

"-oh my god Sara-" Callie choked, hugging her as tightly as she could. "I was so worried about you! Are you okay?" She asked as she pulled away, taking her face into her hands to look at her.

"...n-nah...I'm really not." Sara muttered, leaning into Callie's touch "I'm t-tired. My face hurts. My head hurts. Everything hurts, really."

"The doctors will help you." Boo said quietly as she reached out to take Sara's hand.

"Yeah, they'll get you some good stuff!" Callie said quickly. She let go of her face, allowing Boo to gently pull her towards the check-in desk after Eight and Cap'n Cuttlefish.

They stayed with her the entire time. The doctors looked at her face, a little puzzled by the new markings. They gave her some pain medicine and food and as soon as Callie and Boo were allowed to take her home, they did.

"Home sweet home!" Callie said as they stepped into their apartment. "Been a while, huh?"

"Yeah…" Sara muttered as she followed, holding onto Boo's hand.

"Did you miss it?" Callie asked as she hung her purse by the door.

Sara nodded. Boo gently lead her down the hall to their room where she sat her down on the bed and turned to grab a new set of clothes from the dresser. "Here, change into some PJ's Sara." She said softly. "Then lay down. Do you want something to eat?"

Sara shook her head no. "Just lay down with me."

Boo nodded almost obediently. Sara reached out and grabbed her arm. "-only if you want to, Boo."

Callie fell back on the bed and looked up at Boo. "Yeah, only if you want to. You're not serving us like you were serving those assholes." She reminded her.

Boo quietly nodded, casting her eyes to the side. "I wanna lay down with you." She said softly, the words foreign in her mouth. She still wasn't used to saying what she wanted to say.

Sara let go of her arm and let her nestle in between them. She draped her arms over her, nuzzling into her.

...She'd missed this. In all her months wandering the underground, facing it's terrors and coming close to death, she'd missed this. Silently, she swore she'd never let go of this again.

The next few days after reaching the surface for eight were spent cooped up in a hospital room. Tai, Marina and Pearl stayed constantly by her side, and Tai even often lay cuddled up with her in bed as long as the nurses allowed it. The three of them tried to teach Eight Inklish in hopes that when she got out of the hospital she'd have at least a loose grip on the language. When she was discharged from the hospital, she spent a few more days cooped up in a room in Pearl and Marina's house, drilling on Inklish until finally she was ready.

The door to Eight's room burst open early that morning. Eight jumped up with wide eyes. "-Morning Eight!" Pearl said with a large grin on her face.

"G-Good Morning-" Eight stuttered, rubbing her face.

"Are you ready for a day out on the town?" Pearl asked.

Eight slowly turned to get out of bed. "Is...Is Tai be there?"

" _Will_ Tai be there." Pearl corrected her. She listened as Eight repeated it before she grinned. "Yeah! We're gonna meet him at the boba tea place!"

"Boba….?" Eight asked curiously.

"Yeah - you'll see! Come on, just get dressed."

"O-Okay…" Eight nodded and got up. She got dressed as soon as Pearl was gone and came downstairs.

She said good morning to Marina and grabbed a plate and a few waffles from the counter.

"How are you feeling?" Marina asked as she put a few dishes into the dishwasher.

"Better." Eight answered. She slathered her waffles in syrup and dug in. "Pearl said we going to town today?"

Marina smiled. "Yeah. Pearl said we're going out on the town. We just want to show you around Inkopolis."

Eight got a smile on her face. "I am exctie!"

"You're _excited_." Marina corrected her. "Hurry up and finish so we can go, alright?"

Eight quickly nodded, shoveling waffle into her face before she dashed off to pull her shoes on. The moment she was ready she jumped up. "We go?!"

Pearl and Marina glanced at each other and Pearl grinned. "Alright, Alright. We can go, Eight."

"Yay!" Eight said, rushing to the door and out to the driveway where Pearl and Marina's car was, climbing in the back as they followed.

She watched through the window as Inkopolis passed. She was amazed by the tall buildings and the inklings and octolings walking through the streets with smiles on their faces. She'd never seen any of this in her time underground. Everyone just seemed so much happier here. They seemed...free.

The car came to a stop in front of a small shop, and Eight craned her head to look at the sign through the window. "Boba Tea…?" She asked.

"Yep! This is the place!" Marina beamed as she hopped out. "I think Tai is already here, he's probably inside."

Upon hearing this she quickly hopped out of the car to hurry inside. As she stepped into the cool shop she looked around the store for the tall octoling she knew and found him sitting in a booth nearby, wearing a visor slid behind his head controlling the single tentacle on his head, a tank and shorts. She hurried over, tackling him in a hug. "Tai!" She said.

His face lit up as soon as he felt her arms around him. He turned to hug her back and kiss her cheek. "Heeyyy Eight!" He said. "How's it going? You happy to be out of the house?"

"Very!" She said, blushing a little at the kiss on her cheek. "I am happy to be seeing you!"

"I'm happy to see you too, Eight. You want something to drink?" He asked, motioning towards the front counter where an Inkling currently stood on her phone,

"What is the Boba Tea…?" Eight asked him curiously.

"Uhhh...It's better if you just ...taste it, alright?" Tai explained, looking up and waving Pearl and Marina over. He got everyone a drink before they sat down at a table. Tai watched as Eight poked her straw through the plastic top and then took a sip. As soon as she did, her entire face seemed to light up.

"Hey, you like that?" Pearl asked with a grin of her own.

"Yes! It is very good!" She said quickly. "Thank you for the drink, Tai."

"Of course." Tai said with a small wink, making Eight giggle.

"Oh, hey, Eight. I thought of a question I wanna ask you." Pearl said, watching Eight as she swung her legs from the chair she sat on. "...you know how we've been calling you Eight?"

"...yes?" She asked curiously.

"Well...that's not your real name, right?"

Eight paused, looking down at the table. "I am not remembering my real name. I am not remembering anything from my past." She said softly.

"We know," Marina said softly. "But you may not ever remember your real name...so we were wondering if you always want to be called Eight or if you want a new name…?"

Eight paused, staring at the table as she thought about it. "I am not knowing if I want to be Eight all the time…" She said. "I am...feeling like maybe it is...it is…" She paused, contorting her face as she tried to say it in Inklish. Finally she shook her head. " _I feel like it's connected to a bad part of my life."_ She said quickly in Octoling.

Marina repeated it to Pearl, who nodded. "Ohhh okay…..I can get that. It's okay if you want to pick a new name! It can be anything you want!"

"Yeah, we'll honor it!" Tai said quickly.

Eight nodded, looking at the table more as she thought...and thought...and thought. She bit her lip and looked up at the others. "I am liking the name of Boba."

"Like Boba Tea?" Pearl asked, perking up a little.

"Yes! You can all be calling me Boba." She said quickly. "Boba Tea!"

Pearl, Marina and Tai all looked at each other and then smiled. "Alright Boba!" She said quickly. "We can do that!"

The Octoling's face lit up, and she almost bounced in her seat. "Thank you!"

"Of course. It's no problem." Said Tai, leaning over to kiss her head. "...love you, Boba."

"Love you too."


	35. Law & Order SVU: Squid Victims Unit

The courtroom was filled with murmurs. Sitting in the benches behind the main courtroom floor were many nosy inklings, jellies and octolings with nothing better to do than watch the criminal cases going on throughout the day. Sitting up front were those a little more familiar with the case and those in it. Cheese wiggled anxiously between Calamari and Marie, and besides Marie was Marina, Boba and Tai. Further down was Zach. All of them were there to support Sam.

"Start?" Cheese asked as she reached over to fiddle with a piece of fabric on Marie's pants.

"In a little while," Marie muttered. She pulled her phone from her pocket to hand to her. "Here, play on my phone."

Cheese quickly grabbed it, and Marie just sighed and looked around the courtroom.

"...worried?" Marina asked from beside her.

"Yeah, I guess." She answered. "I know they've got this case in the bag. Maybe I'm just worried about what Pearl is gonna say on the witness stand."

Marina softly laughed. "You're not the only one." She glanced around at everything, spotting the other two Octolings. Boba was nervously ripping a small piece of paper up, and when she seemed to think no one was looking she slipped a piece into her mouth. Marina paused, frowning. "Boba?" She spoke. "...are you hungry?"

Boba jumped and she quickly dropped the shreds of paper in her hands. "H-Huh?"

"Are you hungry?" Marina repeated. "I might have something in my purse…"

"Oh, n-no, no sorry." Boba answered. She gave Marina a look silently begging her not to say something.

Marina just nodded and looked away towards one of the doors. After a few moments they opened, and in came a jury of inklings and Octolings to take their seats. Then there was the judge, and then the prosecutors and defendants.

Minty walked into the room followed by a very nervous and shaky looking Sam. Their witnesses Pearl and Olive followed. They took their seats, and then came the defense. Mimi and John were led into the room by guards, both criminals wearing their jail uniforms and cuffs. They and their lawyer were sat down on the other side of the room, John looked ahead at the judge, but Mimi turned to give Sam a shit-eating grin. Sam tried hard to ignore her.

The court proceedings began and Minty stepped to the front of the room to give her opening statement. "My name is Minty Fresch," She began. "I am here to prove to you, the jury, that Mimi and John Osa terribly abused and neglected their three children Samuel, Olive, and Basil. I will be showing you pictures of their living space, pictures of injuries caused by the defendent and there will be testimony from Samuel, Olive and Pearl Houzuki, who saw the house herself and will attest to how disgusting their living conditions were. I believe the Jury will come to agree that John and Mimi Osa are unfit to be parents, and deserve jail time."

The Judge nodded. "Thank you, Mrs. Fresch. Defense." He motioned for the defense to give their opening statement.

A man walked to the front with a look on his face like he knew this was a useless case to defend. "Ladies and Gentlemen of this court, my name is Pradan Knox and I am here to defend John and Mimi Osa in this case. Mrs. Fresch will present some...compelling evidence, but I implore you to think about how what you will see could simply be a dramatization. I ask you to think critically about what you see, and the possible motives behind making this a bigger deal than it really is."

"Have a seat, Mr. Knox." The Judge spoke.

From the pews, Marie leaned over to Calamari besides her. "I almost feel bad for him."

Calamari chuckled. "I know…"

Once the judge allowed it, Minty came to the front to present her evidence. "The first thing I would like to present to the court is how Samuel Osa and his sisters were forced to live. These ..." She turned towards a screen as pictures blinked into existence. "...are real pictures of the house when squid CPS investigated after John and Mimi's arrest. The reports on the house say that it is filthy. Infested with rats and cockroaches and other pests. There was a build up of mold in bathrooms and the kitchen, which are unlivable conditions. It is obvious that Mimi and John Osa did not care for the house. It was a dangerous place to live. We all, as parents know that if your children are living in a house like this…" Minty motioned to the slide. "...you are NOT caring for your children. Besides this, CPS noted an abundance of alcohol being consumed by John Osa, and the presence of drugs being consumed mostly by Mimi Osa. Children cannot be subjected to these things, especially not someone as young as ten or eleven."

"...now I'm going to talk about the direct treatment of the children. This photo is of a wound recently given to Olive Osa by her mother, Mimi. It's graphic, so be warned."

Minty showed the picture and there was a small gasp as everyone saw the horrific side wound. Olive squirmed in her seat. "On top of injuries like this the children were beaten very often. This. Is. Abuse. Of. Children." Minty took a deep breath. "...that is all."

Minty took a seat besides Olive and Sam. Next was the defense. The poor man did his very best, but everyone knew this case was impossible to defend. He tried to play on how Mimi was possible mentally ill, and he tried to play on how maybe the abuse was being dramatized. Clearly, Sam was doing fine now, after all.

After his rather weak defense it was time for what Sam was dreading the most - witnesses. He was called to the stand first. Nervously, he took his seat. Minty came to question him first. She stepped up and gave him a small, comforting smile before she started to speak.  
"Sam, did your mother often hurt you?"

Sam bit his lip and he nodded. "Yes. She hurt us everyday."

"Did she ever leave any marks on you? Like scars?"

"Well...of course."

"Can you tell me about any?" She said, nodding a little as she moved her eyes over the dark scar on his face.

Sam nodded, reaching up to run a finger over the scar on his face. "Uh...I got this one two years ago when I still lived with my Mom and Dad. I often had to go work at the docks, you know, Salmon Run and stuff. I needed money for food. While we were out our younger sister went missing. The police came to the house. Both my parents were angry I brought the police to the house, so my mom opted to just...kill me and take care of me, as she put it. She came after me with a knife. She just grabbed me by my shirt and yanked me up and attempted to stab me but I dodged. When I dodged she cut my face open." Sam explained.

Minty nodded. "Is this kind of violence and...homicidality normal in your house?"

"It was, yes. We lived in fear everyday." Sam answered. He kept his eyes down, refusing to look up at anyone he knew, or his mother. He could feel her eyes burning a hole in him.

"Can you describe a typical day at your house, Sam?" Minty asked.

Sam nodded, although he shifted uncomfortably. "So in the morning my dad would leave to head to work. I would get my sisters up to get them ready for school. I would have to scrape together what I could for lunches, I uh...usually didn't eat lunch. My mom slept while we were at school. She didn't usually wake up until we got home, and we had to hide upstairs. Often she used drugs, got high and came up stairs for us though, u-um…" He faltered, eyes darting around and his hands trembling and sweating. "...she liked knives. She'd cut us up. I have scars everywhere-" He had to stop again, fighting tears. "...I tried hard t-to hide my sisters from her but she always found them. I had to watch her cut up my sisters."

He took another deep breath. "My Dad would come home. He always left us alone until he started drinking, then he'd beat us. A lot. Then if we could, we'd go to bed or do homework or...whatever."

Minty nodded. "So who was the one doing things like laundry and cooking and cleaning? You know, normal housekeeping."

"Me. Basil could help sometimes."

"Your parents allowed - and depended - on you to do these things."

Sam nodded. "...yes."

Minty nodded. "That's all my questions." She then went to go sit down. Mimi and John's lawyer came up to ask him questions about behavior and school performance, almost trying to trick him into saying he deserved the treatment. When all his questioning was done he went back to his seat, feeling like his legs were jelly.

He sat through Olive and Pearl's questioning. Olive talked about her experiences living in the house, her testimony matching Sam's. Pearl talked about the house, and she talked about the drugs she and Marina found. Really, all of it was background noise to him. All he really focused on was his heart slamming against his chest and his throat closing up.

"...Sam?"

He jumped and looked up to see the jury leaving and the audience filing out. Minty had a hand on his shoulder. "...the jury is going to vote….you okay? You wanna go? Your family is waiting outside."

"R-Right…." Sam slowly stood, looking to his right to see Olive was gone, and standing besides Calamari looking somber. He slowly moved to go see the two.

"Olive, you okay?" Sam asked as he approached.

Olive simply nodded. "...yeah. Fine." She muttered. Sam understood by her tone that no, she wasn't okay but no, she didn't want to talk about it. He nodded, and looked up to the others.

Calamari moved over to him. "You alright…?" She asked.

"I'm...trying really hard to be okay." He admitted. "I'm not. But I'm trying."

She nodded, reaching down to squeeze his hand. "Let's go sit down." She said softly, moving over to a bench nearby.

"I doubt it's gonna take the jury that long to say guilty..." Pearl muttered as she followed them over to the bench, letting Cal and Sam sit down.

"I know…" Sam muttered. He glanced over at his sisters, finding Cheese clinging to Marie and watching Sam. He barely smiled, and motioned for her to come over.

She walked over, crawling up into his lap and hugging him as tight as she could. Sam just returned the hug, resting his chin on her head. "...so...do we wanna just...wait around?"

"I think so." Calamari answered, glancing around at the others to see what they thought.

"Anyone wanna place bets on how long it takes?" Pearl muttered as she settled down on the floor, leaning against the wall.

"Pearlie…" Marina muttered, nudging her with her foot. She then sighed and looked around for the others. Tai stood nearby with Zach, but Boba was farther down the hall. She stood beside one of the many plants placed around the building with a leaf in hand. Marina watched as she tore a piece off and carefully placed it in her mouth.

Immediately Marina walked over to her. She gently took her elbow, and pulled her around a corner out of the other's sight. " _Boba, what's going on?"_ She asked.

Boba's face twisted into one of embarrassment. She swallowed hard. " _I-I don't know-"_

" _You were eating paper earlier, now you're eating a leaf."_ Marina held her hand out for the leaf. " _This isn't normal. What's going on?"_

Boba slowly placed the leaf in Marina's hand. " _I-I don't know I-I-"_

" _Are you that hungry?"_

" _N-No! I-I just...want to."_ She admitted with mild embarrassment. " _I want to eat a lot of not food things."_

" _What other things are you eating Boba?"_ Marina asked, her eyes wide with concern.

Boba was quiet for a while, fidgeting anxiously with her fingers. " _U-Um…"_ She glanced up nervously at Marina. " _Little things…."_

" _Like?"_

" _You know...paper and...paper clips and bits of pillow stuffing and...yeah."_

Marina blinked. And then blinked again. She opened her mouth, but nothing came out.

" _I-I can't explain why!"_ Boba said quickly. " _I just want to! I want to so bad. I-I don't know why I-I'm telling you this-"_

" _No. No, you need to tell me this. It's not okay."_ Marina bit her lip. " _We're gonna see a doctor as soon as we can. I'm sure it has something to do with the fact that you were starving underground for a month. Stay close to Tai and I, alright?"_ She held an arm out for her.

Boba hugged her tightly, not moving away from the comforting hug until they heard footsteps. They both looked back to see Cheese. "-Ready.' She said.

"Oh, alright. Thank you, Cheese." Marina said. She held her hand out for Cheese to take so she could take her back, but the squid shook her head and went to hold Boba's hand instead. Boba seemed to need it more.

The Octoling smiled weakly. "Thank you, Cheese. Come on, let's go back."

They walked back to the courtroom together to get sat down again. Cheese stayed besides Boba to comfort her, since she clearly needed it. The defense and prosecution took their seats as did the judge and jury, and everyone held their breath as the Judge asked the jury to stand and announce their findings. An inkling stood at a small podium.

"We, the jury, find the defendant John Osa guilty of child abuse and neglect. We find the defendant Mimi Osa guilty of possession and use of illicit drugs, child abuse, endangerment, and neglect."

Everyone on Sam's side let out a sigh of relief, and Pearl even pumped a fist in the air. The Judge nodded.

"John and Mimi Osa you will return here in two weeks for sentencing. Dismissed."

Guards grabbed John and mimi to take them back and everyone else stood. Sam couldn't help but watch his parents as they were taken through a door in the back. His eyes lingered on his mother. She turned her head, meeting eyes with him. She no longer held that shit eating grin from the beginning of the trial. She held a look of fury even he'd never seen before. One that shook him to his core.

He was ripped from his thoughts as Minty threw an arm around Sam in a hug. "We did it!" She cheered. "Your fight is over. You're done, Sam! You can walk out of those doors and never hear from your parents again." She paused, her grin turning to a softer smile. 'You can just be with your family now."

Sam had to blink a little, and he slowly nodded. "Thank you, Minty. Really." He said quietly.

"Of course. Go see your family."

He walked towards the door, finding everyone waiting for him outside. He hugged Calamari and Marie, and thanked the others in a quiet tone. He looked around a little for his sisters, wanting to make sure they were okay. John and Mimi were their parents too, of course. He found Olive standing away from the others. He glanced Calamari and Marie. "...I'll be back." He whispered, and then slipped away.

As he came over to his sister he gently spoke ."Hey Olive…"

The smaller inkling glanced up only a little. "...hey."

Sam kneeled, reaching out to take her hands. 'Hey...I know, everything has _sucked_ until now. But now...it's over. Mom and Dad are gone, you're with me now. Calamari and Marie and I ...we'll take care of you."

Olive looked away quietly.

"...Olive…" Sam said again, squeezing her hand. His heart ached for her. "...I'm so sorry, okay? I'm so sorry I never came back for you. I'm so sorry things sucked so bad but...it's okay now. It's okay. We're gonna be better. We're gonna make everything better."

Olive was quiet again. Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath and pulled his hand away As he moved to stand, Olive moved fast and tackled him in a hug that knocked Sam off his feet. She shoved her face against his shoulder, and let out a sob.

Sam blinked a little before he slowly just hugged her tightly, putting a hand on the back of her head to stroke her hair. He heard footsteps coming towards him, and he glanced over to see Cheese hurrying over to kneel down beside them. Sam took an arm from Olive to invite her into the hug too.

For a moment, Sam sat there on the floor of the courthouse with both of his sisters in his arms. After years of waiting and suffering they were truly safe. Their parents were gone, and the fight to have them gone was over.

After years, there they were, safe and together again.

 **A/N:** I was gonna try and be serious about the title for this one but I thought of Squid Victims Unit and bust a gut cus I'm so funny so there's that.

Anyways, thank you for reading! I wanted to say, I'm going to be posting little updates and memes and thoughts about TSB and all it's characters on my twitter account! If you want to keep up to date on that stuff, or talk about characters, or watch me make memes about TSB please go follow me! I'm Vullardqueen on twitter! I'll probably give ya a follow back. Thank you! 3


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